Parabiblical Literature Associated with Early Christian (NT) Names
The Lost Apocrypha of the New Testament Project
(under construction; in imitation of M. R. James' compilation of "Lost
Apocrypha of the OT")
coordinated by Robert A. Kraft [latest updates 16de03, 11no03,
27oc03, 08oc03, 4au03, 16je03 (begun April 2003)]
[for most recent expansions see conceptualization,
Barnabas
(also below),
Clement (below)]
codes and bibliographic
links:
G-G = Goodspeed-Grant, A History of Early Christian Literature
(UChicago, 1966)
Gel = Gelasian
Decree listing by number (Latin text;
another English
text)
H-S = Hennecke-Schneemelcher (Wilson), NT Apocrypha, 2 vols (Clarke
1991\2 [1963], 1965)
LX = Catalog of the Sixty Books
listing by number
Nic = Stichometry of Nicephorus
listing by number
Resch = Alfred Resch,
Agrapha: Aussercanonische Schriftfragments (TU 15.3/4, Leipzig
1906\2)
To check:
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine), 1834-1924.
The lost and hostile gospels : an essay on the Toledoth Jeschu, and the
Petrine and Pauline gospels of the first three centuries of which
fragments remain / by Rev. S. Baring-Gould, M.A., author of
"The origin and development of religious belief,"
"Legendary lives of the Old Testament characters," etc. (London ;
Edinburgh : Williams and Norgate, 1874) xxxii, 305, [1], 5, [1] p.
[225.7 G732] -- see 1885 edition of similar materials.
Theodore Bergren and Michael Stone, Biblical Figures outside the
Bible
Richard Bauckham, Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the
Gospels (Eerdmans 2002): Ruth, Matthew's genealogy, Elizabeth and Mary,
Anna, Joanna (= Junia?), Mary of Clopas, Salome (Jesus' sister, and the
disciple), women at the resurrection. For reviews see
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=2868
Made all possible links from Peter Kirby's Early Christian Writings
page (10je2003)
INTRODUCTORY
THE SOURCES. PATRISTIC
REFERENCES AND QUOTATIONS [see H-S]
- Irenaeus
- 1 Clement ?
- Shepherd of Hermas ?
- Gospel of Truth (Valentinian; rejected)
- Clement of
Alexandria
- Gospel of the Egyptians
- Gospel of the Hebrews
- Traditions of Matthias
- Preaching of Peter
- 1 Clement
- Epistle of Barnabas
- Didache
- Shepherd of Hermas
- Apocalypse of Peter
- Orpheus "the theologian"
- Plato "under the inspiration of God"
- Metrodorus the Epicurean uttered certain words "divinely
inspired"
- Origen (Homily
on Luke 1.1)
- Gospel According to the Egyptians
- Gospel of the Twelve (Apostles)
- Gospel According to Basilides
- Gospel According to Thomas
- Gospel According to Matthias
- "some/many others"
- Didymus the Blind
- 1 Clement
- Epistle of Barnabas
- Didache
- Shepherd of Hermas
- Eusebius (HE
3.25)
- Acts of Paul (disputed; see also HE 3.3)
- Shepherd (of Hermas) (disputed; see also HE 3.3)
- Apocalypse of Peter (disputed; see also HE 3.3)
- Epistle of Barnabas (disputed)
- Teachings of the Apostles (disputed)
- Gospel According to the Hebrews (disputed)
- Gospel of Peter (heretical; see also HE 3.3)
- Gospel of Thomas (heretical)
- Gospel of Matthias (heretical)
- Acts of Andrew (heretical)
- Acts of John (heretical)
- Acts of "other Apostles" (rejected as heretical)
- Acts of Peter (rejected, HE 3.3)
- Preaching of Peter (rejected, HE 3.3)
- Athanasius
- Teaching of the Apostles (worth reading)
- Shepherd (worth reading)
- Epiphanius
- Jerome, etc.
PRODUCTION OF APOCRYPHA
THE LISTS
AND STICHOMETRIES (see also this page):
- For a convenient comparative chart of the early lists, see
"Appendix D: Lists and Catalogues of New Testament Collections" by Lee
Martin McDonald, pp. 591-597 in The Canon Debate, edited by Lee
Martin McDonald and James A. Sanders (Hendrickson 2002). The following
sources are included (any parabiblical materials that are mentioned
appear in parentheses here): Irenaeus (Hermas, Wisdom), Clement of
Alexandria (Barnabas, Apocalypse of Peter), Origen; Eusebius (Acts of
Paul, Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter, Barnabas, Didache, Gospel of the
Hebrews[?], Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of "Matt", Acts
of Andrew, Acts of John), Cyril of Jerusalem (Gospel of Thomas),
Athanasius (Didache, Hermas), Cheltenham/Mommsen, Epiphanius (Wisdom,
Sirach), Apostolic Canons (Apostolic Constitutions), Gregory of
Nazianzus, African Canons (Acts of Martyrs), Jerome, Augustine,
Amphilochius, Rufinus (Hermas, Two Ways, Preaching of Peter), Innocent
(Matthias, James the less, Acts of Peter and of John [by Leucian] and
of Andrew [by Xenocharides and Leonidas], Gospel of Thomas), Syrian
Catalogue, Muratorian Fragment (see below), Laodicea Synod, Carthage
Synod; Eucherius, Gelasius, Junilius, Cassiodorus, Isidore; Vaticanus ,
Sinaiticus (Barnabas, Hermas), Peshitta, Alexandrinus (1 Clement, 2
Clement, Psalsm of Solomon), Claromontanus (see below).
- Muratorian
Canon (ca 200 CE? from an 8th c Latin Fragment)
- Paul to the Laodiceans (forged by Marcionites)
- Paul to the Alexandrians (forged by Marcionites)
- "several other" extracanonical Pauline letters
- Apocalypse of Peter (disputed)
- Shepherd of Hermas (written recently, worth reading privately)
- Arsinous (rejected)
- Valentinus (rejected)
- Miltiades (?) (rejected)
- Marcionite Psalter (rejected; by Valentinus and Miltiades?)
- Basilides of Asia Minor, founder of the Cataphrygians
(rejected)
- Catalogue in Codex Claromontanus (6th century)
- Epistle of Barnabas (=? Hebrews?) 850 stichoi
- Shepherd of Hermas 4000 stichoi
- Acts of Paul 3560 stichoi
- Apocalypse of Peter 270 stichoi
- Gelasian Decretal (6th c; see below)
- Stichometry of Nicephorus (ca 9th c ?; see below)
- Catalogue of the 60 Books (7th c?; see below)
"PARABIBLICAL" Titles from Lists, with a Comprehensive List
["LX" = the list of 60 Books; "Nic" = Stichometrey of Nicephoros]
The Latin Decretum Gelasianum (also in English)
- [Gel 02]Itinerary (book of travels) under the name of the apostle
Peter, which is called The Nine Books of the holy Clement [or is it
"the ninth of the books of Saint Clement?]
[Itinerarium nomine Petri apostoli, quod appellatur sancti Clementis
libri numero novem, apocryphum]
- +[NicNTA] 2. The Circuit of Peter 2750 lines
- +[LX] 17.The Circuits and Teachings of the Apostles
- +[LX] 21.The Teaching of Clement
- +[NicNTA] 7. The 32 (books) of Clement 2600 lines
- [Gel 03]Acts under the name of the apostle Andrew [Actus nomine
Andreae apostoli, apocryphi]
- [Gel 04]Acts under the name of the apostle Thomas
- +[NicNTA] 4. The Circuit of Thomas 1600 lines
- [Gel 05]Acts under the name of the apostle Peter
- [Gel 06]Acts under the name of the apostle Philip
- +[LX] 19.The Acts of Paul
- +[NicNTA] 1. The Circuit of Paul 3600 lines
- +[NicNTA] 3. The Circuit of John 2500 lines
- [Gel 07]Gospel under the name of Matthias [Evangelium nomine
Mathiae, apocryphum]
- =[LX] 25.The Gospel according to Matthias
- [Gel 08]Gospel under the name of Barnabas
- =[LX] 24.The Gospel according to Barnabas
- [Gel 09]Gospel under the name of James the younger [Iacobi
minoris]
- +[LX]15.The History of Jacob/James
- [Gel 10]Gospel under the name of the apostle Peter [Petri
apostoli]
- [Gel 11]Gospel under the name of Thomas, which the Manicheans use
[quibus Manichei utuntur]
- +[NicNTA]5. The Gospel of Thomas 1300 lines
- [Gel 12]Gospels under the name of Bartholomaeus [Evangelia nomine
Bartholomaei, apocrypha]
- [Gel 13]Gospels under the name of Andrew
- [Gel 14]Gospels which Lucian has forged [Evangelia quae falsavit
Lucianus]
- [Gel 15]Gospels which Hesychius has forged [Evangelia quae
falsavit Hesychius]
- +[NicNT]4. The Gospel of the Hebrews 2200 lines
- [Gel 16]Book about the childhood of the Savior [Liber de infantia
salvatoris, apocryphus]
- [Gel 17]Book about the birth of the Savior and about Mary or the
midwife
[Liber de nativitate salvatoris et de Maria vel obstetrice]
- [Gel 18]Book which is called Shepherd [Liber qui appellatur
Pastoris]
- +[NicNTA]8. (Writings) of Ignatius, of Polycarp and of Hermas ...
- +[LX]18.The Epistle of Barnabas
- +[NicNT]3. The Epistle of Barnabas 1360 lines
- +[LX]22.The Teaching of Ignatius
- +[LX]23.The Teaching of Polycarp
- [Gel 19]All books which Leucius, the disciple of the devil, has
made
[Libri omnes quos fecit Leucius disciplulus diabuli, apocryphi]
- [Gel 20]Book which is called Foundation [Liber qui appellatur
Fundamentum, apocryphus]
- [Gel 21]Book which is called Treasure [Liber qui appellatur
Thesaurus]
- [Gel 23]Cento about Christ, put together in Virgilian lines [see
also below, after 55]
[Centonem de Christo virgilianis conpaginatum versibus, apocryphum]
- [Gel 24]Book which is called Acts of Thecla and of Paul [Liber
qui appellatur Actus Theclae et Pauli, apocryphus]
- [Gel 25]Book which is called Nepos' [Liber qui appellatur Nepotis]
- [Gel 26]Book of Proverbs, compiled by heretics and presented in
the name of the Holy Sixtus
[Liber Proverbiorum ab hereticis conscriptus et sancti Sixti nomine
praesignatus]
- [Gel 27]Revelation which is called Paul's [Revelatio quae
appellatur Pauli, apocrypha]
- =[LX]20.The Revelation of Paul
- +[LX]16.The Revelation of Peter
- +[NicNT]2. The Revelation of Peter 300 lines
- [Gel 28]Revelation which is called Thomas'
- [Gel 29]Revelation which is called Stephen's
- [Gel 30]Book which is called Translocation of the Holy Mary
[Liber qui appellatur Transitus sanctae Mariae, apocryphus]
- [Gel 34]Book which is called Penitence of Origen [Paenitentia
Origenis]
- [Gel 35]Book which is called Penitence of the Holy Cyprian
[Paenitentia sancti Cypriani]
- [Gel 37]Book which is called Prophecies/Destinies(?) of the
Apostles [Sortes apostolorum]
- [Gel 38]Book which is called Amusements(?) of the Apostles [Lusa
apostolorum]
- [Gel 39]Book which is called Canons of the Apostles [Canones
apostolorum]
- +[NicNTA]6. The Teaching (Didache) of the Apostles 200 lines
- [Gel 40]The book Physiologus, compiled by heretics and called by
the name of the blessed Ambrose
[Liber Physiologus ab hereticis conscriptus et beati Ambrosii nomine
praesignatus]
- [Gel 41]The History of Eusebius Pamphili [Historia Eusebii
Pamphili, apocrypha]
- [Gel 42]Works of Tertullian [opuscula Tertulliani]
- [Gel 43]Works of Lactantius (later add: or of Firmianus or of the
African) [opuscula Lactantii sive Firmiani]
[opuscula Africani]
- [Gel 44]Works of Postumianus and of Gallus [opuscula Postumiani
et Galli]
- [Gel 45]Works of Montanus, of Priscilla and of Maximilla
[Montani, Priscillae et Maximillae]
- [Gel 46]Works of Faustus the Manichean [Fausti Manichei]
- [Gel 47]Works of Commodianus
- [Gel 48]Works of the other Clement of Alexandria
- [Gel 49]Works of Thascius Cyprian [Thascii Cypriani]
- [Gel 50]Works of Arnobius
- [Gel 51]Works of Tichonius
- [Gel 52]Works of Cassian, a presbyter in Gaul [Cassiani
presbyteri Galliarum]
- [Gel 53]Works of Victorinus of Pettau [Victorini Petabionensis]
- [Gel 54]Works of Faustus of Riez in Gaul [Fausti Regiensis
Galliarum]
- [Gel 55]Works of Frumentius Caecus [Frumentii Caeci]
[Centonem de Christo virgilianis conpaginatum versibus, apocryphum (see
above, #23)]
- [Gel 56]Epistle of Jesus to Abgar [Epistula Iesu ad Abgarum,
apocrypha]
- [Gel 57]Epistle of Abgar to Jesus [Epistula Abgari ad Iesum]
- [Gel 58]Passion (Martyr Acts) of Cyricus and of Iulitta [Passio
Cyrici et Iulittae]
- [Gel 59]Passion of Georgius [Passio Georgii]
- These and the like, what [was taught or compiled by] [Haec et his
similia quae ...]
- Simon Magus,
- Nicolaus,
- Cerinthus,
- Marcion,
- Basilides,
- Ebion,
- Paul of Samosata [etiam Samosatenus],
- Photinus and Bonosus, who suffered from similar error [qui
simili errore defecerunt],
- also Montanus with his detestable followers [quoque cum suis
obscenissimis sequacibus],
- Apollinaris,
- Valentinus the Manichean [sive Manicheus],
- Faustus the African [Faustus Africanus],
- Sabellius,
- Arius [ca 325],
- Macedonius,
- Eunomius,
- Novatus,
- Sabbatius,
- Calistu,
- Donatus,
- Eustatius,
- Iovianus,
- Pelagius [ca 400],
- Iulianus of Eclanum,
- Caelestius,
- Maximian,
- Priscillian from Spain [Priscillianus ab Hispania],
- Nestorius of Constantinople,
- Maximus the Cynic [ca 380],
- Lampetius [ca 431],
- Dioscorus [-454],
- Eutyches [ca 450],
- Peter [of Alexandria] [ca 451 Chalcedon]
- and the other Peter [of Antioch, ca 451 Chalcedon], of whom
the one besmirched Alexandria and the other Antioch [e quibus unus
Alexandriam, alius Antiocham maculavit],
- Acacius of Constantinople [fl 471-489] with his associates
[cum consortibus suis],
THE TEXTS and TRADITIONS (arranged prosopographically)
Problem: How to deal with pre- or non-Christian names that present
clearly Christian material? E.g. Ascension
of Isaiah 11, Sibylline
Oracles, Gospel of Eve, Odes of Solomon,
Testaments
of the 12 Patriarchs, 5th Ezra and
6th Ezra, Melchizedek
[NHL], Seth literature [NHL] ?
20 July is the feast day of Aaron (Orthodox
Church) (16th cent. BCE) Brother of Moses and first
Jewish high priest; and Elijah (also
Orthodox) (9th cent. BCE) The prophet. Although the Catholic
Church does not usually think in terms of Old Testament saints, there
is great veneration for the prophet Elijah among the Calced Carmelites
-- the original Carmelites, tracing their origin to hermits found
on Mount Carmel by the crusaders, who in turn claimed descent from the
disciples of the prophet Elijah.The reformed or Discalced (barefoot)
Carmelites were founded by St Teresa of <C1>vila and St John of
the Cross. If you visit a house of Discalced Carmelites, you will very
likely find pictures or statues of these two saints; but if you visit a
Calced house, you will find a picture of the prophet Elijah; an easy
way to know which kind of Carmelite you are dealing with, without
needing to ask.
31 March: Amos (8th cent. BCE) Amos was a shepherd near
Bethlehem who became one of the minor prophets. According to the
Roman martyrology, he was killed by having an iron bar knocked through
his head.
1 August is the feast day of The Maccabean martyrs
(d. 160 B.C.E.) A group of Jews executed for resisting Antiochus
IV Epiphanes' attempts to impose Greek religion on the Jews. The
most famous is Eleazar, a 90-year-old scribe who refused to eat pork
and was executed; also famous are seven brothers and their mother
Hannah who were killed together. These are the only Old Testament
figures who have official liturgical veneration in the western church;
their remains are believed to be in the church of S. Pietro in Vincola
in Rome. The account of their deaths played an important role in
shaping the Christian concept of martyrdom. Which makes it sad
that their cult was restricted to local calendars in 1969. Maybe this
has something to do with the fact that when their supposed relics were
examined in the 1930s it was discovered that they were really dog bones.
Zacharias,
father of John the Baptist
- 5 November is the feast day of Elizabeth (1st cent.) Elizabeth
was the mother of John the Baptist and a cousin of Mary. Oddly, there
doesn't seem to be any extra-biblical
tradition about her.
Zacharias (1st cent.) Zacharias was father of John the Baptist. Luke's
gospel tells that he was a priest, stricken dumb because he doubted
when Gabriel told him he was going to beget a son in old age and only
recovering when John was born. Luke chapter 1 is the only source of
information on him.
- 24 June is the feast day of: John the Baptist (d. c. 30) Jesus'
cousin and prophet, one of the rare saints whose major feast is on his
birthday rather than deathday. John had a miraculous start in life:
born to his elderly parents Elizabeth and Zachariah, after Zachariah
had been told of his coming birth by an angel
and had had the audacity to laugh at the idea (for which he was
stricken dumb). The site of John's tomb was believed to be Sebaste in
Samaria; certainly Emperor Julian, who had the tomb desecrated,
believed it was John's. [there are three heads of Saint John the
Baptist - one in Saint Mark's in Venice, another in Damascus and a
third in Amiens, France]
- The village of Ein Karim was regarded in Byzantine tradition as
the home of the priestly family Elizabeth and Zechariah and as the
birthplace of John the Baptist. Graffiti inside the Suba cave include
several crosses and at least one drawing inside the cave is believed to
be a representation of John the Baptist, which may be the earliest (if
not the only one) discovered to date (2001).
- `This is the tomb of Zachariah, martyr, very pious priest, father
of John,'' the inscription of 47 Greek letters reads in the "tomb of
Absalom" in the Kidron valley. There's more writing on the monument and
it may include a reference to the Simeon who blessed Jesus in the
Temple according to Luke 2:25-35. The discoverers, osteologist Joseph
Zias and epigrapher Emile Puech, promise an article publishing the
inscription in the next issue of Revue Biblique (2003). This
inscription provides interesting information about Byzantine Christian
traditions.
- +[NicOTA]10. (Book of) Zacharias, the father of John 500 lines
- tomb of Zachariah in Kidron Valley traditions (see
Murphy-O'Connor, BR [je2003] 34ff)
24 June is the feast day of John the Baptist
(1st cent.) One of the extremely few saints commemorated on his
birth day
instead of his death day (or sometimes day of translatio, or more
convenient date determined by later calendar emenders; the others who
come to mind are Mary, whose birthday is celebrated on 8th September,
and Jesus himself, whose birthday is celebrated on 25th
December.). John appears prominently in the gospels as a prophet
and forerunner of Jesus. Early tradition placed J's tomb at Samaria,
but it was destroyed in the reign of Julian, leaving the field open for
conflicting claims to relics, several medieval churches claiming
especially his head. The Beheading of John the Baptist is also
celebrated on 29th August. The reason for celebrating his birth is that
it is a significant and miraculous event, recorded in the scriptures.
Other significant and miraculous events in the lives of saints are also
celebrated, for example the "conversion" of Saint Paul, the Visitation
of Mary, and indeed several other events in the life of Mary. The birth
of John the Baptist also has signficance in that it occurs six months
away (more or less) from the birth of Jesus. Since Christmas occurs at
the winter solstice, symbolising light coming to a darkened world, so
John the Baptist's birth around the time of the summer solstice
reflects John's Gospel statement that "I must diminish so that he
[Jesus] can grow".
The 'traditional' reason for celebrating John's birth in addition to
his death is that a common (patristic?) understanding of the Lucan
comment that 'the babe in her womb leapt with joy' was that John was
cleansed from original sin ('filled with the Holy Spirit') while still
in the womb. Hence, he was born without sin. (As opposed to Mary, who
in RC
tradition was conceived without sin.) [internet thread 2004]. 29 August
is the feast day of the beheading of John the Baptist at the
hands of Herod Antipas, after J. had criticized the king's marital
practices. At first Herod just imprisoned J., but his wife
Herodias arranged for the execution by having her daughter dance before
the king and win a promise of anything she wanted---which proved to be
the head of J. on a platter.
Anne and Joachim:
26. July is the feast day of: Anne and her husband Joachim, the parents
of the Virgin Mary, first appear in the Protoevangelium of James, an
apocryphal gospel that dates to c. 170. The story is that they were
publicly mocked for their childlessness, so Joachim went and fasted
forty days in the desert, whereupon an angel appeared
and promised a child. Anne promised to dedicate the child to God.
Anne's cult appeared in the East in the sixth century, and spread to
the west in the eighth, but only became popular from the fourteenth
century on. In the late Middle Ages, A's miraculous conception of Mary
was stressed, as well as Anne's role in educating the little Mary.
Joachim (named in other sources as Heli, Cleopis, Eliacim, or Sadoc)
only rated a western cult in the sixteenth century.
Mary,
mother of Jesus (verify which Mary!)
- 8 September is the feast day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary
- 5 August is the feast day of: the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
- "Once I had examined the manuscripts, it did not take me long to
identify them as fragments from a liturgical book, or hymnary, of the
Church of the East (the so-called "Nestorian" Church), most of them
belonging to a feast of the Virgin Mary" [ Sebastian Brock; Cairo Geniza
13-14th c Syriac on paper, not palimpsest, but possibly acquired for
use in book bindings!]
- [Gel 30]Book which is called Translocation of the Holy Mary
[Liber qui appellatur Transitus sanctae Mariae, apocryphus]
- Questions of Mary
- Gospel
of Mary (Magdalene?)
- Genna Marias
- in modern RC:
Ineffabilis Deus = the Immaculate Conception dogma, Dec. 8, 1854, pope
Pius IX.
Munificentissimus Deus = the Assumption dogma, Nov. 1, 1950, pope Pius
XII.
Note Vatican II confirmation of the Imm. Conc. dogma in Lumen Gentium,
pope John XXIII.
See also pope Pius IX, allowing nomination of Mary as saint patron of
the United States of America in 1846.
See also pope Sixtus IV's bull The Imm. Conc., 1483.
Imm. Conc. day (Mary's birthday) is Sept. 8 , and Ass. day (Mary's
deathday) is Aug. 15; In the Roman Calendar, 8 Sept is Mary's birthday;
IC day, the feast of her conception, is celebrated nine =
months prior, on 8 Dec.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA :
<AB> As in other cases of the same kind the feast originated in
the monastic
communities. The monks, who arranged the psalmody and composed the
various
poetical pieces for the office, also selected the date, 9 December,
which
was always retained in the Oriental calendars. [<8A>] The
influence of
Constantinople was consequently strong in the Neapolitan Church, and, as
early as the ninth century, the Feast of the Conception was doubtlessly
kept
there, as elsewhere in Lower Italy on 9 December, as indeed appears
from the
marble calendar found in 1742 in the Church of S. Giorgio Maggiore at
Naples.
[<8A>]
In the Western Church the feast appeared (8 December), when in the
Orient
its development had come to a standstill.
[<8A>]
The "Martyrology of Tallaght" compiled about 790 and the "Feilire" of
St.
Aengus (800) register the Conception of Mary on 3 May. [<8A>] The
Scholiast
adds, in the lower margin of the "Feilire", that the conception
(Inceptio)
took place in February, since Mary was born after seven months -- a
singular
notion found also in some Greek authors. [<8A>] <BB>
- I believe she is supposed to be reading prophecies about the
conception
of Christ! There are some illustrations at:
http://www.relevanthistory.com/courses/docs/annunciation.html
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/stalbanspsalter/english/commentary/page019.shtml
The latter site describes very early examples and details the
literary
history of the concept:
"The idea of the Virgin reading is found in Pseudo-Matthew
where, during
her youth in the Temple she <91>excelled in devout reading and
chanting the
psalms<92>. In Bible commentaries, both Ambrose and Bede mention
that Mary
had read about the prophecy that a virgin would conceive and bear a son.
Odo of Cluny (962-1049), in one of his sermons, asks what the Virgin was
doing when the angel came and suggests that perhaps she was reading the
prophets. By the 12th century, Ailred of Rievaulx firmly states in a
sermon that Mary was reading the book of Isaiah at the time."
Judy Shoaf (12/9/03)
-
Gail McMurray Gibson's essay written at Duke University, now at
http://www.umilta.net/equal1.html#thread
written under the aegis of William S. Hecksher, provides good
bibliography.
In Equally in God's Image we trace the shift in the iconography of the
Virgin from spinning to reading as coming about at the time women became
excluded from official learning with the coming of the universities. In
convents they had both spun and read - see Lioba, Hilda (Rosemary Cramp
writes about the loom weights at Whitby), etc. The medieval tradition
certainly accepted the apocryphal account of the Virgin in the Temple,
seeing her as a kind of proto-nun. The Isaiah passages are frequently
used
in paintings, for instance in Botticelli. The learned prophetic Advent
Antiphons are supposedly sung by the Virgin to her not-yet-born Child.
Walter Ong's article has some nice things on the paradox of the Child as
Word unable yet to speak a word, 'infans'. It was likely women patrons
who
commissioned the images of St Anne teaching the Virgin to read, then the
Virgin teaching Jesus to read. There's a statue of St Anne teaching the
Virgin to read in the lower church at Mont St Michel, I particularly
remember. I've come across one Flemish painting where the Child,
wearing a
carefully cross-stitched bib, is trying to read a book and it's upside
down! Julian taught the alphabet for her subsistence until Arundel
forbade
women in England to teach. That's when the Wills start leaving her
money so
she can survive. In the defences written by Adam Easton and Alfonso of
Jaen
of Birgitta of Sweden's right to write her visionary prophetic book
based
on the Bible, Huldah is cited as the woman who preserved the Torah for
study when it was discovered in a cupboard in the Temple.
Julia Bolton Holloway <juliana@TIN.IT> (12/9/03)
Joseph,
father of Jesus
- 19 March is the feast day of Joseph (1st cent.) Husband of the
Virgin Mary and foster-father of
Jesus, Joseph is only known from the gospels of Matthew and Luke, and
it is surmised that he died before the crucifixion. J's cult was
popular in the eastern church from an early age, but spread in western
Europe only from the fourteenth century on. J. is the patron saint of
workers (he has a subsidiary feast on May Day) and was also declared
patron of the universal church in 1870.
- Book/History of Joseph the Carpenter
Simeon
"Senex" (8 October) Simeon makes a cameo appearance during the
presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:25-35) and it's thanks to
this that we have that most beautiful of hymns, the Nunc Dimittis. He
attracted
a later body of legend, but I couldn't find any details.
23 July is the feast day of The Magi (1st
cent.) This really does seem to be the main feast of the wise
men, rather than Epiphany. My guess is that it's the day of their
relics' translatio to Cologne in the late twelfth century. Modern
scholars think they were astrologers from either Babylonia or Arabia.
Jesus
(Savior, Redeemer, Christ)
- [Gel 16]Book about the childhood of the Savior [Liber de infantia
salvatoris, apocryphus]
- [Gel 17]Book about the birth of the Savior and about Mary or the
midwife
[Liber de nativitate salvatoris et de Maria vel obstetrice]
- Arabic Infancy Gospel [title?]
- [Gel 23]Cento about Christ, put together in Virgilian lines [see
also below, after 55]
[Centonem de Christo virgilianis conpaginatum versibus, apocryphum]
- [Gel 56]Epistle of Jesus to Abgar [Epistula Iesu ad Abgarum,
apocrypha]
- [Gel 57]Epistle of Abgar to Jesus [Epistula Abgari ad Iesum]
- "A new [fragmentary Coptic] attestation ... is preserved in
an inscription beneath a window in an interior courtyard ("Cour" 47
[Monastery of Apollo, Bawit, Egypt], pp. 98-100, no. 4) ... written in
a book hand" -- Jean Cle/dat, Le Monaste\re et la ne/cropole de
Baouit, ed Dominique Be/nazeth and Marie-He/le\ne Rutschowscaya (=
MIFAO 111; Cairo: Institut franc,ais d'Arche/ologie orientale 1999).
- Didache
(Teaching of the Lord through the Apostles) [see under Apostles, below]
- Dialogue
of the Savior (NHL)
- Gospel
of the Savior [fragmentary]
- Testamentum Domini Nostri Jesu
- Sophia
Jesu Christi [NHL]
- Pistis
Sophia
- Two
Books of Jeu
Jacob/James,
brother of Jesus according to Mark 6.3 = Matt 13.55 [verify which
James]
Joses or Joseph
brother of Jesus according to Mark 6.3 = Matt 13.55
Jude/Judah,
brother of Jesus according to Mark 6.3 (listed 3rd) = Matt 13.55
(listed 4th) and thus a brother of Jacob/James [see also Judas Thomas,
Judas Thaddeus]
- see NT Epistle of Jude, brother of Jacob/James?
Simon brother
of Jesus according to Mark 6.3 (listed 4th) = Matt 13.55 (listed
3rd)
Salome,
sister of Jesus [? see Bauckham] (Mark 6.3 = Matt 13.56 mention only
unnamed "sisters")
Augustus
(Roman ruler)
- Census of Augustus (Tertullian, Against Marcion 4.7: And
yet how could he [Jesus] have been admitted into the synagogue -- one
so abruptly appearing, so unknown; one, of whom no one had as yet been
apprised of his tribe, his nation, his family, and lastly, his
enrolment in the census of Augustus -- that most faithful witness of
the Lord's nativity, kept in the archives of Rome?)
Nicodemus
(Jewish leader): 1 or 3 August is his feast day -- Nicodemus was a
prominent Jew, probably a member of the Sanhedrin. He visited
Jesus secretly at night (thus, much later, Jean Calvin railed against
the "nicodemites" who
practiced the reformed religion in secret); later tradition says
he became a disciple; he and Joseph of Arimathaea together took
Jesus from the cross and buried him. For some reason the apocryphal
gospel that tells of Christ's harrowing of hell was attributed to N.
According to tradition he was martyred. His supposed relics were
founded along with those of Gamaliel.
Joseph of Arimathea
- 17 March is the feast day of Joseph of Arimathea (1st cent.)
Joseph appears in the gospels as a
secret disciple of Jesus who, although a member of the Jerusalem
Sanhedrin, declared his beliefs by arranging Jesus' burial. J attracted
a lot of later legend. He is commonly credited in legend with catching
Jesus' blood in the "holy grail"---and of course with bringing the
hawthorn (about which we all now know so much) to Glastonbury in the
form of his staff, which took root there (the "Holy Thorn").
- According to a former Glastonbury monk, William Good, 27 July was
kept as the feast of Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury before the
dissolution of the monasteries. This observance seems to have been
unique to Glastonbury. Good's testimony is reproduced by J. Armitage
Robinson in his book _Two Glastonbury Legends_. The normal feast day
for Joseph of Arimathea in the West was 17 March.
- Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea
Pilate
(Roman governor)
- Acts
of Pilate (Gospel of Nicodemus)
- Report of Pilate to the Emperor
- Letters of Pilate [modern]
Gamaliel
(Jewish teacher): 3 August is his feast day -- Gamaliel (1st cent.)
Gamaliel was a Jewish lawyer who appears twice in Acts, teaching Paul
and helping Peter & John. Legend makes him a convert to
Christianity. His purported relics were found near Jerusalem in 415
[from web site].
25 March is the feast day of The Good Thief
(d. whichever year the Crucifixion was) This is the repentant thief who
was crucified along with Jesus, traditionally given the name "Dismas."
A number of legends grew up about him (and the Bad Thief), including
that the pair had tried to rob the holy family on their flight to Egypt.
"The Twelve
Apostles/Disciples" [and the seventy?]
- +[LX]17.The Circuits and Teachings of the Apostles
- [Gel 37]Book which is called Prophecies/Destinies(?) of the
Apostles [Sortes apostolorum]
- [Gel 38]Book which is called Amusements(?) of the Apostles [Lusa
apostolorum]
- [Gel 39]Book which is called Canons of the Apostles [Canones
apostolorum]
- +[NicNTA]6. The Teaching (Didache) of the Apostles 200 lines
- Didymus Caecus, Commentarii in Psalmos 29-34. {2102.018} Codex
page 227 line 26
DIA\ TOU=TO KAI\ E)N TH=| *DIDAXH=| TH=| BI/BLW| TH=S KATHXH/SEWS
LE/GETAI: "EI)RH|NEU/SEIS MAXOME/NOUS".
- Didymus Caecus, Commentarii in Ecclesiasten (3-4.12).
{2102.047} Codex page 78 line 22 --
E)N TH=| *DIDAXH=| TH=S K[ATH]X?[H/]SEWS | TW=N A)POS[T]O/LWN
LE/GETAI: "EI)RHNEU/SEIS MAXOME/NOUS".
- Didascalia
- Epistle
of the Apostles
- Gospel of the Twelve (Apostles) [Origen]
- (Kukean) Gospel of the Twelve
- Memoria Apostolorum
- (Manichean) Gospel of the Twelve Apostles
- Gospel of the Seventy
- other Gospels of the Twelve Apostles (H-S)
- Virtutes Apostolorum = Passiones Apostolorum = Historia
Apostolica (ps-Abdias) -- attributed to Abdias (in Hebrew!), first
bishop of Babylon, in some MSS (then to Greek by Eutropius, then to
Latin by Julius Africanus!); different texts in different recensions,
but the version published by Fabricius 1 (1719) 402-742 contains 10
books, on Peter, Paul, Andrew, James, John, James the Less + Simon +
Jude, Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, Philip (other versions have fewer
or more apostles, and varying sequences of treatment; some have
Barnabas and/or Mark) -- see Aideen O'Leary, "By the Bishop of Babylon?
The Alleged Origins of the Collected Latin Apocryphal Acts of the
Apostles," Legacy 128-138.
Simon Peter (Cephas) (named first in Mark 3.16, Matt 10.2,
Luke 6.14; also Acts 1.13 [simply Peter there])
- Foxe #9, 29 June (crucified upside down in Rome according to
Tertullian); defeated Simon Magus in Rome, etc (no quo vadis story)
- Peter strikes the rock! (Catacombs of Callixtus
and of Commodilla [Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. 359], Sarcophagus of
the Two Brothers in the Vatican Museum [4th c])
- 15 April is the feast day of Basilissa and Anastasia (d. c. 68?)
Legend says that B and A were
disciples of Peter and Paul in Rome, responsible for burying the bodies
of both after they were martyred and then martyred themselves in the
reign of Nero.
- [Gel 02]Itinerary (book of travels) under the name of the apostle
Peter, which is called The Nine Books of the holy Clement [or is it
"the ninth of the books of Saint Clement?]
[Itinerarium nomine Petri apostoli, quod appellatur sancti Clementis
libri numero novem, apocryphum]
- +[NicNTA]2. The Circuit of Peter 2750 lines
- [Gel 05]Acts
under the name of the apostle Peter
- Acts of Peter and Paul
- Acts
of Peter and the Twelve [NHL]
- [Gel 10]Gospel
under the name of the apostle Peter [Petri apostoli]
- +[LX]16.The Revelation/Apocalypse
of Peter
- +[NicNT]2. The Revelation of Peter 300 lines
- Coptic Apocalypse
of Peter [NHL]
- Letter
of Peter to Philip (NHL)
- Pseudo-Epistle of Peter [??]
- Preaching
of Peter [Clement of Alex]
- Kerygma Petrou
- Kerygmata
Petrou
- Acts of Simon and Jude [??]
- 31 May is the feast day of Petronilla (?) Petronilla has been
venerated in Rome since early days. Legends (all much later) tell that
she helped care for St.Peter during his time in Rome, and one account
says she was Peter's daughter (my source huffily says that she can't
have been---but her attribute is a bunch of keys---does that remind you
of anyone?).
The notion that P. was Peter's daughter is transmitted both in at least
one sixth-century list of the Roman martyrs' tombs and in the legendary
Acta of Nereus and Achilles (et socc.; BHL 6058-66; 5th or 6th cent.),
where once Peter on the request of Titus cures her of paralysis she
becomes his household helper and where later she dies (of her own
volition? by divine grace?) before she can be married to a high Roman
official, Flaccus comes. From these sources it enters the Carolingian
martyrologies and becomes widespread in later accounts.
A fourth-century painting of P. was discovered in the Roman catacombs
during De Rossi's excavations of what seems to have been a late antique
church dedicated to Nereus, Achilleus, and Petronilla. A sketch of this
fresco is reproduced here (about halfway down the page):
http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy
/Lazio/Roma/Rome/.Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/7*.html (watch the wrap!)
A fifteenth-century Italian interpretation of P. as household helper is
here:
http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/dining/din011.html
And a fifteenth-century English portrait of her is here (P. is the
saint furthest to the right):
http://www.syllysuffolk.co.uk/img/somerscreen3.jpg
This latter is from the rood screen of St. Mary's, Somerleyton
(Suffolk), described here:
http://www.syllysuffolk.co.uk/htm/somerleyton.htm
Kapelln in Niederoesterreich has a modern statue of Peter and
Petronilla (as wind-up toy?). Not medieval, but...
http://www.kapelln.gv.at/kapelln/Vorstellung/der_hl%20Petrus%20und%20die%20hl%20Petron
illa.htm
- 21 March is the feast day of Birillus (d. c. 90?) One of the many
legendary figures linked to Peter, Birillus supposedly accompanied
Peter from Antioch to Italy, and Peter then ordained B. as first bishop
of Catania.
Jacob/James of
Zebedee ["the greater"; verify which James] (named 2nd in Mark
3.17, but 3rd in Matt 10.2 = Luke 6.14 [no mention of Zebedee or
brothership in Luke], always before John [his brother in Mark and
Matthew -- together they are Boanerges, "sons of thunder" in Mark
3.17]; in Acts
1.13 he is named after John and their relationship is not mentioned)
- Foxe #2, 25 July (beheaded in 44 CE, along with his converted
accuser)
- Acts of James the Greater
- 25 July is the feast day of James the Greater (d. 44) One of the
most important saints of the Middle Ages, thanks to some very
interesting legends, James started out as a fisherman, the son of
Salome and Zebedee, and brother of John the Evangelist. He has the odd
distinction of being the only apostle whose martyrdom appears in the
Bible (Acts 12.2). A discredited tradition says he preached in Spain
before his martyrdom; an even more discredited tradition says that his
body was miraculously conveyed to Spain (in a stone ship) where it was
later found at Compostela. James' shrine at Compostela became one of
the greatest pilgrimage centers of the Middle Ages, exceeded in
popularity and longevity only by Jerusalem and Rome. He is the
patron saint of Spain.A legend that developed in the ninth century told
how, after his decapitation, James went to Spain by ship and his body
was buried at a place later named "Compostela" since a visionary was
led to J's relics in a "field of stars." In an even more surprising
twist, James became the warlike Santiago, "slayer of Moors" (Matamoros)
and patron saint of the reconquista (and thus of Spain). For the
peoples of New Spain, and particularly for the natives of Peru, St.
James the Greater, in his office of Santiago Matamoros, provided yet
another interesting twist or two to this history. One night when the
Incas stormed a Spanish stronghold with spears and torches; at the last
possible moment, the fortress gate opened and out thundered the mounted
Santiago, instilling fear into the natives, and enabling the Spanish to
quash their resistance. Traditional paintings of the princely,
strangely impassive Santiago Matamoros astride his fierce white steed,
trampling the Moorish infidels, began to appear in greater numbers
throughout the Cuzco School, with the Moors transformed into Incas:
this depiction became known as Santiago Mataindios: Saint James the
Indian Killer. But Santiago the Indian Killer became a particularly
attractive saint for the conquered Inca; or, syncretically, it may be
that he is associated with the Inca god Illapa, whose temple stood in
Cuzco, and whose powers extended to thunder and rain.
John of Zebedee
(named 3rd in Mark 3.17, but 4th in Matt 10.2 = Luke 6.14 [no mention
of Zebedee or brothership in Luke], always after Jacob/James [his
brother in Mark and Matthew -- together they are Boanerges, "sons of
thunder" in Mark 3.17]; in Acts
1.13 he is named before Jacob/James, and their relationship is not
mentioned) [verify which John]
- Foxe #16 [after Simon Zealotes], 27 Dec (non violent death at 100
years, but sentenced to death under Domitian in 73 CE [boiling oil] but
miraculously survived, then banished to Patmos mines); founded the
churches of Rev 2-3, did various miracles, inner circle for Jesus'
secrets. [The right arm and head of Saint John are allegedly preserved
as relics somewhere.]
-
John the Evangelist (d. c. 100 (unless you credit the medieval
legends that he never died at all)) John was the son of Salome and
Zebedee and brother of James the Great and one of Jesus' original
apostles. He is credited with writing the fourth gospel and the book of
Revelation, as well as three letters. Legend tells that he survived
being boiled in oil at Rome before being exiled to Patmos, and ended
his life in Ephesus (of natural causes).
- +[NicNTA]3. The Circuit of John 2500 lines
- Apocryphon
of John (NHL)
- Dialogue between John and Jesus (NHL)
- Acts
of John
Andrew (named 4th in Mark 3.18 and Acts 1.13, with no relationship mentioned; named
second in Matt 10.2 = Luke 6.14
as brother of Simon Peter )
- Foxe #8, 30 Nov (crucified on X cross, bound with cords, in
Edessa)
-
Andrew (1st cent.) Andrew was the first of the apostles to be
called. He was Peter's brother, but doesn't appear as a prominent
figure in the post-pentecost Christian community. Patristic authors
tell that A. was a missionary in Scythia and Greece before being
martyred at Patras (according to a late tradition on an X-shaped
cross). Later authors claimed him as the founder not just of the
Christian community of Byzantium (in other words Constantinople) but
also of Kiev, giving both dioceses apostolic authority. A's relics were
in Constantinople until 1210, when they were stolen and taken to
Amalfi, all but his head, which was returned in the twentieth century
to the Greek patriarch. Unless, of course, you believe the odd medieval
legend that brought A's remains to Scotland at a very early age.
- [Gel 03]Acts
under the name of the apostle Andrew [Actus nomine Andreae apostoli,
apocryphi]
-
[Gel 13]Gospels under the name of Andrew
Philip
(named 5th in all four NT lists) [verify which Philip -- apostle or
evangelist]
- Foxe #3, 1 May (crucified in 52 CE in Heliopolis, Phrygia, after
killing the serpent-God)
- Gospel
of Philip (NHL)
- 3 May for Philip the Apostle (d. c. 80) Philip was one of the
original twelve, too, but his career after Pentecost is even more
obscure than that of James the Less. There are late and conflicting
traditions that don't really seem to get us anywhere.
- [Gel 06]Acts under the name of the apostle Philip
- Letter
of Peter to Philip [NHL]
- In Tenga Bithnua [The Evernew Tongue] -- see MRJames
"Irish Apocrypha" JTS 20 (1920/21) 9-16
Bartholomew (named 5th in the Synoptic Gospel lists,
but 6th in Acts 1.13 [after Thomas])
- Foxe #12, 24 Aug (crucified then beheaded in India);
translated G.Matt into Indian language. He is sometimes identified with
Nathaniel in John's gospel (his name is actually a patronymic---"son of
Tolomai"). Nothing is known about his career, and traditions only
developed late. Eusebius says that Bart went to India, and Roman
tradition says he was martyred in Armenia (where the king had him
flayed and beheaded). Further legends tell that he also preached in
Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt. B's supposed relics are on the Tiber
island (Isola Tiberina) in Rome. Legend says that he was flayed alive,
so his attribute is a flaying-knife. On his relics at the church of S.
Bartolomeo al l'Isola (St. Bart's on the Island). see:
http://www.ku.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/churches/S.Bartolomeo_allIsola/home.html
with its subsidiary page on the relics:
http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/churches/S.Bartolomeo_allIsola/interior/Ottos_basin.html
also:
http://www.romeartlover.it/Vasi92.htm
http://www.medioevo.roma.it/saggi/chiese/bartolomeo.htm
and, with an enlargeable jpeg of the Ottonian puteal preserved in this
church,:
http://www.ex-art.com/magazine/mitileggende01.htm
- [Gel 12]Gospels under the name of Bartholomaeus [Evangelia nomine
Bartholomaei, apocrypha]
- Acts of Bartholomew
Matthew
[(named 7th in Mark and Luke, but 8th in Matthew [called "the tax
collector," listed after Thomas] and Acts [after Thomas and
Bartholomew]) [verify identifications]
- Foxe #4, 21 September (slain by halberd around 60 CE in Nadabar,
Ethiopia); wrote his gospel in Hebrew and it was translated to Greek by
James the Less; preached in Judea, then Ethiopia and Parthia
- Matthew, aka Levi, was a tax-collector at Capernaum
before he became an apostle. The first gospel is claimed as his work.
After Pentecost, there is a variety of legends telling mutually
exclusive events of his later life. Legend says that Matt preached in
Judea and then further east, eventually being martyred in either Persia
or Ethiopia (see next entry). Somehow his relics were reported to have
made it from Ethiopia to Finistere (Brittany); Robert Guiscard
translated them from Finistere to Salerno. [... Saint Julian himself
brought a huge number of relics from Jerusalem, including a part of
Saint Matthew's leg, a tooth from Saint Mark the Evangelist, the skull
of Saint James the Less ..."]
- According to his Passion (BHL 5690), today's well known saint
from the
Regno, the apostle Matthew, was martyred in Ethiopia. His
Translation
(BHL 5694b) tells us that Breton sailors brought his remains to Armorica
in the time of Valentinian III (so in the fifth century) during the
reign there of a fictive king Solomon. Solomon was murdered,
whereupon
Valentinian sent a mighty fleet to destroy the Breton kingdom.
When ,
having achieved its ends, the Roman invasion force sailed home it
brought with it Matthew's remains. These, however, were stolen and
wound up in Lucania, where they were given a pious burial in a newly
constructed church; over time the latter become ruinous. In 954
the
remains were discovered here, near Paestum in what was now Salernitan
territory. Housed briefly in the cathedral of Capaccio, they were
soon
moved to Salerno itself on the order of its prince, Gisulf I, and
reinterred in that city's cathedral. As all _regnicoli_ know,
Matthew
has been in Salerno ever since.
- Unless, of course, they've been in Kyrgyzstan all along. See
http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/000157.html
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/29/35577.html
and especially
http://www.ipvnews.com/apostle.html
- In Salerno, at least, 6. May is celebrated as the feast of M.'s
translation. The aforementioned archbishop Alfanus I is better
known in literary contexts as Alfanus of Salerno; various of his
poems for this feast survive among his _carmina_ (ed. Lentini and
Avagliano, nos. 58-62). The tenth-century Translation of St.
Matthew is discussed by Baudouin de Gaiffier, "Hagiographie
salernitaine: la Translation de S. Matthieu," _Analecta Bollandiana_ 80
(1962), 82-110. [John Dillon]
- Pseudo-Matthew
- Ebionite Hebraic Gospel according to Matthew [Epiphanius]
- Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew
- Iphigenia
(1st cent.) According to an apocryphal account, Iphigenia was an
Ethiopian woman, converted by the apostle Matthew.
Thomas [Judas, Didymos;
see also brother of Jesus] (named 8th in Mark and Luke, but 7th in
Matthew [before Matthew] and 6th in Acts)
- Foxe #13, 21 Dec (speared in India); preached in Parthia and
India, aka Didymus; also 3 July is the feast day of: Thomas Didymus
"the Twin," one of the twelve apostles. Very early legend reports that
after Pentecost Thomas went as a missionary to Keral in southern India
and was eventually martyred there.
- [Gel 04]Acts
under the name of the apostle Thomas
- +[NicNTA]4. The Circuit of Thomas 1600 lines
- [Gel 11]Gospel under the name of Thomas, which the Manicheans use
[quibus Manichei utuntur]
- +[NicNTA]5. The Gospel of
Thomas 1300 lines
- [Gel 28]Revelation which is called Thomas'
- Book
of Thomas the Contender (NHL)
- Infancy
Gospel of Thomas "the Philosopher"
Jacob/James of
Alphaeus [verify which James; see also James the brother of
Jesus, James of Zebedee] (named 9th in all four NT lists)
- [... Saint Julian himself brought a huge number of relics from
Jerusalem, including a part of Saint Matthew's leg, a tooth from Saint
Mark the Evangelist, the skull of Saint James the Less ..."]
- [Gel 09]Gospel under the name of James the younger [Iacobi
minoris]
- see Foxe's Book of Martyrs for basic confusions:
- 3 May is the feast day (was 1 May until 1955) of James the Less
(d. c. 62) Or James "the Just," which sounds a bit better. James was
one of the original twelve apostles. His story seems to be hopeless
confused (a clear case of too many people named James. This James was
the son of Alphaeus, but is often identified with James the brother of
Jesus. So James the Less is often identified as first "bishop" of
Jerusalem and author of the epistle of James---one or both of which
accomplishments actually belonged to James the brother of JC. He is
usually shown in art with a club, because he is supposed to have been
beaten to death after he was sentenced by the Sanhedrin.
- 26 May is the feast day of Alphaeus (1st
cent.) Alphaeus was the father of James the Less. There are legends
about his later life as a Christian, but they're apparently all later
wishful thinking.
Thaddeus
(named 10th in Mark and Matthew; not in the other lists but a Judas of Jacob/James appears
as 11th in Luke and Acts, traditionally conjectured to be the same
person?) [see also Judas Thomas]
- see Foxe #11, Jude "commonly called Thaddeus" (crucified in
Edessa, 72 CE)
- 28 October is the feast day of: Jude (Judas Thaddeus); this
Jude/Judas was one of the apostles, a brother or son of a certain
Jacob/James, which has led to all sorts of conjectured identifications
with Jacob/James the Less and with the brothers of Jesus.
Traditions regarding Judas' life after Pentecost are confused and
imaginative. The most popular legend is that he went as a missionary to
Persia, where he was martyred along with Simon the Zealot (see below).
This mysterious Judas (perhaps inspiring Thomas Hardy with the title
*Jude the Obscure* for a novel) is appropriately the patron of
difficult or hopeless problems..
- Acts of Simon and Jude -- the apocryphal Passion of Simon and
Jude tells of their preaching and martyrdom in Persia.
- Gospel of Thaddeus
- Addai
[separate entry?] : 5 August is the feast day of: Addai and Mari (2nd cent.)
Unfortunately little is
known about these two, the apostles of Persia. Addai was probably a
missionary bishop of Edessa;
Mari may have founded a church near Ctesiphon, which was the first
church in the Persian Empire. The Chaldean liturgy is named after the
pair [from web list].
Simon the Cananean or
Zealotes (named 11th as "Cananean"
in Mark and Matthew, but 10th [as "Zealotes" -- a reasonable
translation of "Cananean"] in Luke and Acts)
- 28 October is his feast day: Simon is the most obscure on the
lists of apostles in the New Testament. Nothing is known about his life
after Pentecost (although there are legends that he preached in
Egypt and then went to
Persia with his colleague Jude. Eastern tradition says Simeon
died peacefully; western tradition says he was martyred in Persia with
Jude). The lack of clear tradition about his martyrdom can be seen in
the variety of his iconographic attributes, including a fish (or two),
a boat, an oar, or a saw (one legend says he was sawed in half).
- Simon and Jude (1st cent.)
Jude may be the same person as Thaddeus in the gospels. This
sounds
very confusing, but this guy *doesn't* seem to be the same as the
author of the epistle of Jude. Little is known of him (perhaps
inspiring Thomas Hardy with the title *Jude the Obscure* for a
novel), except for
- Acts of Simon and Jude -- the apocryphal Passion of Simon and
Jude tells of their preaching and martyrdom in Persia.
Judas Iskariot
(named last in the Synoptic Gospel lists, story of his replacement in
Acts) [verify]
- Paffenroth, Kim Judas: Images of the Lost Disciple
(Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press 2001)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=2017
- Arabic Infancy Gospel (5/6 c) has Judas possessed by Satan as a
child, thus destined to betray.
- Gnostic depictions?
- Gospel
of Judas
Matthias (replacement for Judas Iskariot according
to Acts 1.26)
- Matthias, Judas' replacement, is Foxe #7, 24 Feb (stoned and
beheaded in Jerusalem); one of the 70
- 14. May is the feast day of: Matthias (1st cent.) A victim of the
calendar reform of 1969, Matthias was traditionally celebrated on 24
February. Matthias was the "replacement" apostle, the one chosen by lot
to take the place of Judas (Acts 1:21-22). It's very unclear what he
did with himself after Pentecost: various legends place him in Judaea,
Cappadocia, the shores of the Caspian Sea, Ethiopia, and the City of
the Cannibals. Empress Helena, the great imperial relic-finder,
is said to have taken his relics from Jerusalem to what is now St.
Matthias' monastery at Trier where they appear by the eleventh century.
He appears in art with a halberd, with which he was supposedly run
through.
- Vitae Prophetarum, Index apostolorum discipulorumque Domini. {TLG
1750.004[010?]} P. 134 line 4. G#. *MATQI/AS O( A)NAPLHRW/SAS TO\N
A)RIQMO\N TW=N IB# A)POSTO/LWN.
- [Gel 07]Gospel under the name of Matthias [Evangelium nomine
Mathiae, apocryphum]
- =[LX]25.The Gospel according to Matthias
- Traditions
of Matthias (=? Gospel of)
- Secret Sayings of Matthias (G-G)
Joseph
Barsabbas surnamed Justus (canidate to replace Judas Iskariot
according to Acts 1.23)
Mary Magdalene
- 22 July is the feast day of Mary Magdalen. Mary was one of Jesus'
disciples and ministered to Jesus (Luke 8.2). She had made his
acquaintance while having "seven devils" driven out of her (Mark 16.9).
After being one of the first witnesses of the empty tomb and also the
first person to see the resurrected Jesus, things become more
confusing. In the Middle Ages, she was equated with the sinful woman of
Luke 7.37 and with Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha). So she appears
in art as a penitent, carrying a jar of ointment -- after sailing to
Gaul with her "brother and sister" Lazarus and Mary, she is supposed to
have become a hermit to repent her sins. An ancient tradition says that
she went with the apostle John to Ephesus and died there; a later
western legend tells that she and Martha and Lazarus went to Provence.
- 8 June is the feast day of Maximinus of
Aix-en-Provence (1st cent.??) , claimed to be the first bishop of Aix,
and legend declared that he lived in the first century and was involved
in the journey of Mary Magdalen to Marseilles; he was also identified
with the man born blind described in John 9.
Martha, sister
of Mary [which?]
29 July is the feast day of Martha (1st cent.) The sister of
Mary and Lazarus, Martha got rather shown up by her sister in the
gospels. Jesus visited the family home in Bethany---Mary listened
while Martha did all the work, and Jesus
wouldn't even stand up for her. She did, however, make one of the
clear professions of faith in the gospels---that Jesus is the Christ,
the son of God (John 11.27), just before Jesus resurrected Lazarus.
Martha and Mary have been used for an awful long time as models of the
active and contemplative life.
Salome
[which? see above, sister of Jesus?]
Mary
Clopas
- 9 April commemoration
- the wife of Clopas or Alpheus, and mother of James the Less. She
appears as one of the three Marys who witnessed the crucifixion. There
are apparently lots of legends about her life
after that, but my annoying saints book just says that they are
"worthless" without giving details.
- 18 February is the feast day of Simon of Jerusalem (d. c. 107)
Simon was the son of Clopas and a relative of Jesus. Legend tells that
he succeeded James as bishop of Jerusalem and when very old was
crucified. His symbol is a fish, for no good reason that I can find.
His cult was reduced to local calendars in 1969.
Veronica
12
July is the feast day of
Veronica (1st cent.) A figure of legend, whose name (which means "true image") seems just a little too
convenient to be a coincidence.
Legend tells that when Christ was carrying his cross on his way to
the crucifixion, a woman in the
crowd wiped his face with a
cloth---which became miraculously imprinted with Jesus' face. Various legends tell that she cured
Emperor Tiberius with this relic, that she was the wife of Zacchaeus the
tax collector and accompanied
him to France to convert the locals, or that she was the woman Jesus cured of a 12-year hemorrhage.
20
August: Amadour (date
?) A cute legend tells that Amadour was a servant in the
household of the holy family (!) He married St. Veronica, was
driven from Palestine and went to Gaul, where he missionized the area
around Bordeaux. On a visit to Rome he witnessed the martyrdom of
Peter and Paul. Back in Gaul again, he founded several
monasteries (!!) and ended up as a hermit at Quercy, where he built a
shrine to the Virgin Mary.
Barnabas [see
also] (Joseph; one of the 70; Levite from Cyprus [Acts 4.36f];
sponsor/companion of Paul [Acts 9.27]); patron saint of Cyprus;
legend says he ended up as a martyr on Cyprus (although Milan claimed
B. as its first bishop). His attribute is a pile of stones---a
rather ominous hint at his martyrdom.
- Foxe #17, 11 June (died about 73 CE, no details); Jew from Cyprus
[very brief!]
- Joseph, surnamed Barnabas ("son of encouragement"), a Levite from
Cyprus (Acts 4.36f [var Barsabbas])
- Acts 1.23 var (replacement for Judas): Joseph called Barsabbas
(var Barnabas D 1831 it aeth)
- Sold land and donated proceeds to Jerusalem followers of Jesus
(Acts 4.36f)
- Sponsor/companion of Paul (Acts 9.27, 11.25f, 12.25ff, etc., 1
Cor 9.6)
- Commended by Paul in 2 Cor 8.18? (Luke or Barnabas according to
[ps-?]John of Damascus in Epp Paul {TLG 2934.053} Vol 95.749 line 22)
- Rebuked by Paul at Antioch for "hypocricy" (Gal 2.11ff)
- Separated from Paul, associated with "cousin" John called Mark
(Acts 15.38f, Col 4.10)
- Introduced Clement of Rome to Christianity (ps-Clem Rec
1.7-13)
- One of the seventy sent out by Jesus in Luke 10.1 (Clem Alex Strom
2.20; Hyptyposeis in Eus HE 2.1.5)
- Preached in Alexandria (ps-Clem Hom 2.5.1; Alexander Laud Barn
381)
(2.5.1) OI)=DEN O( NOU=S SUNTRE/XEIN. PLH\N E)/MAQON, W)= *KLH/MHS, W(S
E)N TH=| *)ALECANDREI/A| O( *BARNA/BAS TO\N PERI\ PROFHTEI/AS LO/GON
TELEI/WS SOI E)CE/QETO:
(381) *KATALABW\N DE\ *BARNA/BAS *)ALECA/NDREIAN TH\N PRO\S *AI)/GUPTON
KAI\ LALH/SAS E)KEI= TO\N LO/GON TOU= QEOU= . . . .
- First preached Christ in Rome, then became bishop of Mediolanos
Vitae Prophetarum, Index apostolorum discipulorumque Domini. {TLG
1750.004[010?]} P. 135 line 17. IG#. *BARNA/BAS O( META\ *PAU/LOU TW=|
LO/GW| DIAKONH/SAS
(136.) PRW=TON E)N *(RW/MH| TO\N *XRISTO\N E)KH/RUCEN, E)PI/SKOPOS
*MEDIO-
LA/NOU METE/PEITA GEGONW/S.
- Biographical notice in Jerome de viris inlustribus 6:
"Barnabas the Cyprian, also called Joseph the Levite, ordained apostle
to the Gentiles with Paul, wrote one Epistle, valuable for the
edification of the Church, which is reckoned among the apocryphal
writings. He afterwards separated from Paul on account of John, a
disciple also called Mark, none the less exercised the work laid upon
him of preaching the Gospel."
- Author of NT Epistle to the Hebrews in some traditions:
Jerome De viris inlustribus (Concerning Illustrius Men)
5 [on Paul]: "The epistle which is called the Epistle to the Hebrews
is not considered his [Paul's], on account of its difference from the
others in style and language, but it is reckoned, either according to
Tertullian to be the work of Barnabas, or according to others,
to be by Luke the Evangelist or Clement afterwards bishop of the Church
at Rome, who, they say, arranged and adorned the ideas of Paul in his
own language, though to be sure, since Paul was writing to Hebrews and
was in disrepute among them he may have omitted his name from the
salutation on this account. He [Paul] being a Hebrew wrote Hebrew, that
is his own tongue and most fluently while the things which were
eloquently written in Hebrew were more eloquently turned into Greek,
and this is the reason why it seems to differ from other epistles of
Paul."
Tertullian [ca 200 North Africa] De Pudicitia (Concerning
Modesty) 20:
I wish, however, redundantly to superadd the testimony likewise of one
particular comrade of the apostles, (a testimony) aptly suited for
confirming, by most proximate right, the discipline of his masters. For
there is extant withal an Epistle to the Hebrews under the name
of Barnabas -- a man sufficiently accredited by God, as being
one whom Paul has stationed next to himself in the uninterrupted
observance of abstinence: "Or else, I alone and Barnabas, have not we
the power of working? " [1 Cor 9] And, of course, the Epistle of
Barnabas is more generally received among the Churches than that
apocryphal "Shepherd" of adulterers. Warning, accordingly, the
disciples to omit all first principles, and strive rather after
perfection, and not lay again the foundations of repentance from the
works of the dead, he says: "For impossible it is that they who have
once been illuminated, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have
participated in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the word of God and
found it sweet, when they shall-their age already setting-have fallen
away, should be again recalled unto repentance, crucifying again for
themselves the Son of God, and dishonouring Him. For the earth which
hath drunk the rain often descending upon it, and hath borne grass apt
for them on whose account it is tilled withal, attaineth God's
blessing; but if it bring forth thorns, it is reprobate, and nighest to
cursing, whose end is (doomed) unto utter burning" [Heb 6.4-8]. He who
learnt this from apostles, and taught it with apostles, never knew of
any "second repentance" promised by apostles to the adulterer and
fornicator. [Novatian (ca 250 Rome) follows Tertullian in this
identification]
- Martyred in Cyprus (Acts of Barnabas) --
Christophorus Mytilenaeus, Calendaria metrica (stichera et
canones). {TLG 3019.001} Month iun stichera-canon can line 37.
O( DE\ *BARNA/BAS TE/LOS LI/QOIS BALLO/MENOS EU(/RATO.
- [Association of a relic of Barnabas on Cyprus with a noteworthy
copy of the Gospel of Matthew]
Georgius Monachus, Chronicon. {TLG 3043.001} Page 619
KAI\ *BARNA/BA TOU= A)POSTO/LOU TO\ LEI/YANON EU(RE/QH E)N *KU/PRW|
U(PO\
DE/NDRON KERATE/AN E)/XWN E)PI\ STH/QOUS TO\ KATA\ *MATQAI=ON
EU)AGGE/LION I)DIO/GRAFON TOU= *BARNA/BA. E)C H(=S PROFA/SEWS KAI\
PERIGEGO/NASI *KU/PRIOI TOU= A)KE/FALON EI)=NAI TH\N KAT' AU)TOU\S
MHTRO/POLIN KAI\ MH\ TELEI=N U(PO\ *)ANTIO/XEIAN. O(/PER EU)AGGE/LION
(5)
A)POQE/MENOS *ZH/NWN E)N TW=| PALATI/W| EI)S TO\N NAO\N TOU= A(GI/OU
*STEFA/NOU KAT' E)NIAUTO\N A)NAGINW/SKETAI TH=| A(GI/A| KAI\ MEGA/LH|
PE/MPTH|.
Georgius Monachus, Chronicon breve. {TLG 3043.002} Volume 110 page 761
*)EPI\ TH=S AU)TH=S BASILEI/AS *ZH/NWNOS, *BARNA/BA TOU= A)POSTO/LOU
TO\ LEI/YANON EU(REQE\N E)C A)POKALU/YEWS E)N *KU/PRW| (E)N PO/LEI
*KWNSTANTI/A|) U(PO\ DE/NDRON KERATE/AN, E)/XON E)PI\ STH/QOUS TO\
KATA\ *MATQAI=ON *EU)AGGE/LION I)DIO/GRAFON TOU= *BARNA/BA.
&(6)$ *)EC H(=S PROFA/SEWS TH=| A)POKALU/YEI KAI\ EI)SHGH/SEI TOU=
A)POSTO/LOU PERIGEGO/NASI *KU/PRIOI TW=|
*KNAFEI= *PE/TRW| FILONEIKOU=NTI, U(PO\ *)ANTIO/XEIAN TELEI=N TA\S
KATA\ TH\N *KU/PRON E)KKLHSI/AS, KAI\ AU)TOKE/FALON EI)=NAI TH\N KATA\
*KU/PRON MHTRO/POLIN.
Georgius Cedrenus Chronogr., Compendium historiarum. {TLG 3018.001}
Volume 1 page 618
TOU/TW| TW=| XRO/NW| TO\ TOU= A(GI/OU A)POSTO/LOU *BARNA/BA LEI/YANON
EU(RE/QH E)N *KU/PRW|, U(PO\ DE/NDRON KERASE/AN I(STA/MENON, E)/XON
E)PI\ TOU= STH/QOUS TO\ KATA\ *MATQAI=ON EU)AGGE/LION I)DIO/GRAFON
AU)TOU= TOU= A)POSTO/LOU *BARNA/BA. E)C H(=S PROFA/SEWS E)/KTOTE
GE/GONE MHTRO/POLIS H( *KU/PROS, KAI\ TOU= MH\ TELEI=N U(PO\
*)ANTIO/XEIAN A)LL' U(PO\ *KWNSTANTINOU/POLIN. TO\ DE\ TOIOU=TON
EU)AGGE/LION *ZH/NWN A)PE/QETO E)N TW=| PALATI/W|, E)N TW=| NAW=| TOU=
A(GI/OU *STEFA/NOU E)N TH=| *DA/FNH|.
Suda, Lexicon. {TLG 9010.001} Alphabetic letter theta entry 541
* Q U / I + N A : E)PI\ *ZH/NWNOS BASILE/WS EU(RE/QH E)N *KU/PRW| TO\
LEI/YANON
*BARNA/BA TOU= A)POSTO/LOU, TOU= SUNEKDH/MOU *PAU/LW|. E)/KEITO DE\
E)PI\ TO\ STH=QOS *BARNA/BA TO\ KATA\ *MATQAI=ON EU)AGGE/LION, E)/XON
PTUXI/A QU/I+NA.
- [Gel 08] Gospel under the name of Barnabas = [LX 24] The Gospel
according to Barnabas [no longer extant]
- (Muslim) Gospel of Barnabas [late medieval, clearly
tendentious; any relationship to ancient title?]
- [LX 18] The Epistle
of Barnabas = [NicNT 3] 1360 lines; this text is also found in
codex Sinaiticus [4th ce] immediately after Revelation, in the
11th century Bryennios codex with the Didache and some other
extracanonical texts, and in mutilated form in several later Greek
codices, as well as in a 9th century copy of a Latin translation of
chapters 1-17. Clement of Alexandria quotes the Epistle by name
several times as by the "apostle," who was "one of the 70 and a
co-worker with Paul" (Str 2.20.116) and apparently commented on it in
his lost Hypotyposeis (Eus HE 6.14.1); Origen also knows it as
"a general epistle" (Contra Celsum 1.63); Didymus the Blind (4th
ce Alexandria) also refers to the Epistle and quotes it (in
Zach, in Pss); Eusebius confusingly includes it both among his
"disputed writings" (HE 6.13.6-14.1) and among the "illegitimate" (HE
3.25.4); Serapion of Thmuis [ca 350 North Egypt] cites the Epistle as
by the "apostle" and apparently as authoritative; Jerome also knows
this Epistle (see above), perhaps mainly from Origen; Mkhitar
[13th ce, Armenia] lists the Epistle as a "disputed" general
epistle.
- [Claromontanus] Epistle of Barnabas 850 lines [=Hebrews?
or EpBarn 1-17 only?]
- Acts of Barnabas [5th-6th century?] Acta Barnabae
{TLG 2949.001}
*PERI/ODOI KAI\ MARTU/RION TOU= A(GI/OU *BARNA/BA TOU= A)POSTO/LOU.
- Alexander, Laudatio Barnabae apostoli. {TLG 2860.003}:
*)ALECA/NDROU MONAXOU= E)GKW/MION EI)S TO\N A(/GION (1t)
*BARNA/BAN TO\N A)PO/STOLON, PROTRAPE/NTOS U(PO\ TOU= (2t)
PRESBUTE/ROU KAI\ KLEIDOU/XOU TOU= SEBASMI/OU AU)TOU= (3t)
NAOU=, E)N W(=| I(STOREI=TAI KAI\ O( TRO/POS TH=S A)PO- (4t)
KALU/YEWS TW=N A(GI/WN AU)TOU= LEIYA/NWN. (5t)
Anathalon
(1st cent.??) (24 September) Later legend tells that Barnabas sent
Anathalon to become first bishop of Milan.
Gaius of Milan
(1st cent.?)(26 September) According to legend, Gaius was the second
bishop of Milan, succeeding Barnabas. It should be noted that there is
no evidence of a diocese centered on Milan before 200 and G's existence
is doubtful, even if St. Charles Borromeo *did* enshrine Gaius' relics.
Clement (one
of the 70)
- Sometimes identified with the Clement mentioned by Paul in Phil
4.3 as a co-worker
- 23 November is the feast day of Clement I (d. c. 101) Clement was
bishop of Rome, the third
successor of St. Peter. His letter to the Corinthians is a very
important sub-apostolic source. He is venerated as a martyr, but no
details are known.
- Hermas (Vis 2.4.3) mentions a Clement who wrote letters to
non-Roman churches
- Dionysius of Corinth [ca 170 CE] says Clement wrote 1 Clement
(G-G)
- Irenaeus (AH 3.3.3) says 3rd bishop of Rome was Clement, a
disciple of the Apostles
- Tertullian says Clement of Rome was consecrated by Peter (Praescr
Haer 32)
- Barnabas introduced Clement of Rome to Christianity (ps-Clem Rec
1.7-13)
- Vitae Prophetarum, Index apostolorum discipulorumque Domini. {TLG
1750.004} Page 142 line 4 _NQ#. *KLH/MHS, OU(= KAI\ AU)TOU= ME/MNHTAI
O( A)PO/STOLOS LE/GWN:
META\ *KLH/MENTOS KAI\ TW=N LOIPW=N SUNERGW=N MOU, O(\S KAI\ PRW=- @1
(142.) TOS E)C E)QNW=N KAI\ *(ELLH/NWN E)PI/STEUSEN EI)S *XRISTO/N,
O(\S KAI\
METE/PEITA E)PI/SKOPOS *SARDIKH=S GE/GONEN.
- So Origen (on John, 6.36) and Eusebius (HE 3.4.9,
3.16, 4.23.11), Paul's Clement wrote 1 Clement
- 1 Clement included in NT section of Codex Alexandrinus
[5th c] and Harclean Syriac MS [12th c]
- 1 Clement accepted as scriptural by Clement of Alexandria
(where?) and Apostolic Canons [ca 400]
- Abu'l Barakat (1363) includes 1-2 Clement among Arabic
NT writings (G-G)
- Clement as translator/composer of Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews:
- Origen according to Eusebius, EH 6.25.13-14: "For not without
reason have the men of old time handed it down as Paul's. But who wrote
the epistle [to the Hebrews], in truth, God knows. Yet the account
which has reached us has some saying that Clement, who was
bishop of the Romans, wrote the epistle, others, that it was Luke, he
who wrote the Gospel and the Acts."
- Eusebius, EH 3.38.1-3 [on 1 Clement]: "In it
he gives many thoughts from the Epistle to the Hebrews, and
even quotes verbally when using certain passages from it, thus most
clearly establishing the fact that the treatise [to the Hebrews]
was no recent thing. For this reason it has seemed right and reasonable
to reckon it among the other letters of the apostle [Paul]. For Paul,
having communicated in writing with the Hebrews in their native tongue,
some say that the evangelist Luke, others that this Clement
himself, translated the writing. The latter statement is the more
probably true, because both the Epistle of Clement and that to
the Hebrews maintain the same character from the point of view of
style, and because the thoughts in each of the two treatises are not
divergent."
- Jerome De viris inlustribus (Concerning Illustrius
Men) 5 [on Paul]:"The epistle which is called the Epistle to
the Hebrews is not considered his [Paul's], on account of its
difference from the others in style and language, but it is reckoned,
either according to Tertullian to be the work of Barnabas, or according
to others, to be by Luke the Evangelist or Clement afterwards
bishop of the Church at Rome, who, they say, arranged and adorned the
ideas of Paul in his own language, though to be sure, since Paul was
writing to Hebrews and was in disrepute among them he may have omitted
his name from the salutation on this account. He [Paul] being a Hebrew
wrote Hebrew, that is his own tongue and most fluently while the things
which were eloquently written in Hebrew were more eloquently turned
into Greek, and this is the reason why it seems to differ from other
epistles of Paul. Some read one also to the Laodiceans but it
is rejected by everyone."
- [Gel 02]Itinerary (book of travels) under the name of the apostle
Peter, which is called The Nine Books of the holy Clement [or is it
"the ninth of the books of Saint Clement?]
[Itinerarium nomine Petri apostoli, quod appellatur sancti Clementis
libri numero novem, apocryphum]
- [LX]21.The Teaching of Clement
- +[NicNTA]7. The 32 (books) of Clement 2600 lines
- Pseudo-Clementine Homilies
- Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions
- First
Clement (Rome to Corinth)
- Second
Clement (anonymous homily)
Prisc(ill)a,
Aquila, Apollos [any ancient literature connections? authorship
of Hebrews?]
13 July is the feast day of Silas (1st
cent.) Silas was one of the leaders of the early Christian
community in Jerusalem. He ended up accompanying Paul on his
second missionary journey. He may be the same person as the
Silvanus who appears in 2 Cor 1.19. Legend makes Silas the first
bishop of Corinth, reporting that he died in Macedonia.
Evodius of
Antioch (d. c. 64-7) Tradition names Evodius as one of the 70
disciples.
- He is credited with succeeding Peter as bishop of Antioch,
- He is said to have coined the word "Christian."
Eutychius the
Phrygian (1st cent.) 24 August. The apocryphal acts of John tell
that Eutychius was a disciple of Paul who then joined John,
accompanying the evangelist to Patmos and eventually dying peacefully
after being tortured
for his faith. He is identified with the man of Acts 20 who fell from a
window at Ephesus.
Ptolemy of Nepi
(1st cent.?) 24 August. Allegedly a disciple of St. Peter, Ptolemy was
first bishop of Nepi (Tuscany), where he was martyred. It's also the
feast day of Romanus of Nepi, allegedly Ptolemy's disciple and
successor, also martyred.
Onesiphorus
& Porphyry (d. c. 80) (6 September). Onesiphorus is
mentioned in 2 Timothy (4:19). In legend, he accompanied Paul to
Spain and then back to the eastern Mediterranean. There O. was
eventually caught, tied to wild horses, and torn in pieces somewhere
around the Hellespont in Domitian's reign. Porphyry was supposedly his
servant, martyred with him.
Rufus and
Zosimus (d. c. 107) (18 December) Rufus and Zosimus were
citizens of Philippi (Macedonia). They were taken to Rome with St.
Ignatius of Antioch where they were martyred two days before I, killed
by wild animals in the amphitheater.
Abdias
[see under Apostles, Acts/History/Passions]
Domnio of
Salona and companions (11 April) An unlikely legend tells that
Domnio was one of Jesus' original 72 disciples, and Peter sent him to
evangelize Dalmatia, where he became first bishop of Salona (now a
suburb of Split). It is much more likely that he was a martyr of
Diocletian's reign.
Stephen
(included in traditions about the 70)
- Foxe #1, 26th of December Stephen Protomartyr (d. c. 35) Stephen
was one of the first seven deacons chosen for the Christian community
of Jerusalem, as described in the Acts of the Apostles. After he was
questioned by the Sanhedrin about his beliefs, a lynch-mob stoned him
to death.
- [Gel 29]Revelation which is called Stephen's
Nicanor the
Deacon (d. c. 76) Nicanor was a Jew, one of the original seven
deacons of Jerusalem (Acts 6:5). Legend tells that he eventually ended
up in Cyprus, where he was martyred in Vespasian's reign.
23 January is the feast day of Parmenas (d. c.
100) Parmenas was one of the seven deacons of Jerusalem whose
appointment is described in Acts 6:5. According to legend, he went on
to be a missionary in Asia Minor and was martyed at Philippi
(Macedonia).
Cornelius of
Caesarea (1st cent.) Cornelius was a Roman centurion, baptized
by St. Peter at Caesarea (Acts 10). According to tradition, he was the
first bishop of the city.
13. February is the feast day of Agabus (1st
cent.) Agabus was a prophet, mentioned in Acts 9:28 and
21:10-12. Medieval legend made him a Carmelite monk.
29 June is the feast day of Mary, mother of John
Mark (1st cent.) This Mary appears in Acts 12.12.
Her house in Jerusalem seems to have been a meeting place for the early
Christian community.
Mark (included
in traditions about the 70)
- Foxe #5, 25 April (dragged and burned); Jewish (Levite),
converted by Peter, with whom he travelled; then to Egypt-Alexandria,
then Lybia, back to Alexandria (bones later to Venice). [... Saint
Julian himself brought a huge number of relics from Jerusalem,
including a part of Saint Matthew's leg, a tooth from Saint Mark the
Evangelist, the skull of Saint James the Less ..."]
- (d. c. 75) The writer of the second gospel (earliest
chronologically) has been identified with the young man who had such an
unimpressive performance when Jesus was arrested -- he ran
away and got his clothes ripped off in the process (Mark 14:51-2) and
with John Mark of Acts 12:25. Tradition says that he was a disciple of
Peter, acting as his interpreter in Rome. Egyptian tradition maintains
that Mark founded the church at Alexandria and was martyred there. His
relics were the subject of one of history's most famous relic thefts,
when in the ninth century Venetian merchants carried them off to Venice.
- Vitae Prophetarum, Index apostolorum discipulorumque Domini. {TLG
1750.004} Page 135 line 17. _ID#. *MA/RKOS, O(\S U(PO\ *PE/TROU TOU=
A)POSTO/LOU E)PI/SKOPOS *)ALECANDREI/AS E)GE/NETO KAI\ EU)AGGELISTH/S.
- N#2#. *MA/RKOS O( A)NE/YIOS *BARNA/BA, OU(= KAI\ AU)TOU=
ME/MNHTAI
O( A)PO/STOLOS, O(\S KAI\ E)PI/SKOPOS *)APOLLWNIA/DOS GE/GONEN.
- CE#. *MA/RKOS O( KAI\ *)IWA/NNHS KALOU/MENOS, OU(= O( *LOUKA=S
E)N TAI=S PRA/CESI ME/MNHTAI, O(\S KAI\ E)PI/SKOPOS *BU/BLOU GE/GONEN.
- 25 April is the feast day of: Mark (d. c. 74), usually identified
with the young man mentioned in Mark 14:51. He was later companion to
both Paul and Peter. Mark is regarded as the first bishop of
Alexandria. His relics were stolen in the ninth century and brought to
Venice. (According to tradition, Anianus of Alexandria was a shoemaker,
converted by Mark -- who cured him of an accidental awl injury -- and
he succeeded Mark as bishop of Alexandria.)
- 21 June is the feast day of: Dominic of Comacchio (d. after 820);
Dominic's claim to sanctity is that he was a thief---a pious thief of
relics. He was a Benedictine monk at Comacchio, near Venice. According
to legend, he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and while in
Alexandria found the opportunity to pilfer away the relics of St. Mark,
which of course then became the prized possession of Venice.
[John Dillon, 21 Jun 2003, comments:] Can anyone identify a source for
the legend that makes Dominic of Comacchio such a major figure in the
removal of St. Mark from Alexandria? Or, for that matter, does anyone
know when he was beatified? (His brief notice at the "For All the
Saints" website [http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0621.htm ], which
bears a close resemblance to Phyllis' text, calls him "Blessed".)
The usual tradition makes the theft the idea and achievement of two
Venetian merchants, B(u)ono of Malamoc(c)o and Rustico of Torcello, and
two Alexandrian religious, Theodore the priest and Stauracius the monk,
said to have been the guardians of Mark's relics. This is very clear in
the Translation of St. Mark, an early medieval Venetian text generally
thought to be the basis for most subsequent accounts. Dominic appears
here as someone who happens to board the vessel in which Mark's body
has been secreted; his function in the narrative is to be told by St.
Mark in a dream, once they are all well en route to Venice, that the
vessel runs the risk of shipwreck and that he (Dominic) should tell the
sailors to strike sail. He does, they do, islands are seen close by,
and this is taken as proof that the saint's remains are indeed on board
and that Mark is protecting the Venetian trading fleet (some of whose
doubting Thomases had previously suggested to the thieves that perhaps
they had been given a mummy).
See Nelson McCleary, "Note storiche ed archeologiche sul testo della
'Translatio sancti Marci,'" _Memorie storiche forogiuliesi_ 27 (1931),
223-64, with an edition of the Translation at pp. 235-64. McCleary's
dating of this text to the eleventh century is exceptional; it is
usually supposed to be of the tenth.
Paul (and Thecla)
- Foxe #10, 29 Jun (also 25 Jan conversion); preached in France and
Spain, died in last year of Nero, 72 CE (sic; confused with next entry,
Jude?), same time as Peter.
- 15 April is the feast day of Basilissa and Anastasia (d. c. 68?)
Legend says that B and A were
disciples of Peter and Paul in Rome, responsible for burying the bodies
of both after they were martyred and then martyred themselves in the
reign of Nero.
- +[LX]19.The Acts of Paul
- +[NicNTA]1. The Circuit of Paul -- 3600 lines
- [Gel 27]Revelation which is called Paul's [Revelatio
quae appellatur Pauli, apocrypha]
- =[LX]20.The Apocalypse/Revelation of Paul
- Nag Hammadi Apocalypse
of Paul
- Epistle to the Laodiceans (see also Marcion's "Laodiceans"
=? Ephesians)
- Epistle to the Alexandrians (mentioned in Muratorian
Canon)
- Correspondence with Seneca
- 23 September is the feast day of Thecla of Iconium (1st
cent.) According to the pseudepigraphic Acts
of Paul and Thecla, Thecla was a young woman of wealthy family who
gave up everything to become a disciple of Paul, including her fiance
(who was angry and denounced her to the governor). Wild beasts
failed to martyr her (although to be safe she baptized herself in the
arena by jumping into a ditch full of water and declaring herself
baptized), and she ended up following Paul around dressed like a man.
After that she became a hermit, and the acta suggest that she played
a preaching and teaching role. She was already a well-known saint
by
c. 200 (Tertullian wrote about her), and was soon acclaimed as an
"archmartyr" (she hid in a cleft in the rock that obligingly opened
for her and then closed again). From the fourth century on,
various
sites connected with T. were major pilgrimage attractions.
- [Gel 24]Book which is called Acts of Thecla and of Paul
[Liber qui appellatur Actus Theclae et Pauli, apocryphus]
- See also the site discussed by Arietta Papaconstantinou, Le
culte des saints en E/gyptes des Byzantins aux Abbassides: L'apport des
sources papyrologiques et e/pigraphiques greques et coptes (Paris:
CNRS 2001)
Luke (also
one of the 70)
- Foxe #14, 18 Oct (hanged in an olive tree in Greece); traveled
with Paul, wrote Lk-Acts; there is also a reference to him in
Colossians 4.14. Nothing historical is known of L. after that, and
there's no evidence that he was martyred. Sixth-century legend made him
an artist, who painted a great icon of the Virgin Mary. [The body of
Saint Luke is claimed to be in Venice and in Padua.] L's relics in
Padua were tested in 2001; and "found to be probably genuine" -- Dr
Guido Barbujani, population geneticist at University of Ferrara, has
extracted DNA from tooth in coffin; concludes it is characteristic of
people living near region of Antioch, on eastern Mediterranean, where
Luke is said to have been born; radiocarbon dating of tooth indicates
it belonged to someone who died between 72 AD and 416 AD. URL:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50F17F7355B0C758DDDA90994D9404482
- 18 October is the feast day of Luke the Evangelist (1st cent.)
Author of the third gospel and the book of Acts. The latter work tells
how Luke, a physician, accompanied Paul on some of his journeys, and
there is also a reference to him in the letter to the Colossians
(4:14). Nothing historical is known of L. after that, and there's no
evidence that he was martyred. Sixth-century legend made him an artist,
who painted a great icon of the Virgin Mary. L's relics in Padua were
DNA-tested in 2001; my source says they were "found to be probably
genuine." Genuine what? Genuinely related to somebody? Genuinely human
bones? I really don't understand this.
Seems easy enough to me. We know from all those paintings of Luke
painting the Virgin's portrait that L. customarily worked alone. So
human hairs embedded in the paint of
any of the surviving portraits attributed to him (cf., e.g.,
http://www.travel-wise.com/europe/india/stthomas.html
[one is housed in the church at St. Thomas Mount] or
http://www.cosmosnet.net/azias/cyprus/visit9a.htm
[one is at the Kykko monastery on Cyprus]) would surely be those of the
evangelist himself. If the DNA from one or more of these hairs matches
DNA extracted from the relics in Padua, the latter would be genuinely
those of St. Luke. And we would be secure in our knowledge, thanks to
the miracles of modern science. Luke is the patron of painters as well
as physicians.
- Vitae Prophetarum, Index apostolorum discipulorumque Domini. {TLG
1750.004} Page 135 line 17 _#2#. *LOUKA=S, O(\S KATA\ PA=SAN TH\N GH=N
TO\ EU)AGGE/LION SU\N
TW=| *PAU/LW| E)KH/RUCEN.
- Marcion's version of the Gospel (begins with Luke 3)
- association with noncanonical Acts: Jerome, de viris
inlustribus 7 [on Luke]: "Therefore the Acts of Paul and Thecla
and all the fable about the lion baptized by him we reckon among the
apocryphal writings, for how is it possible that the inseparable
companion [Luke] of the apostle [Paul] in his other affairs, alone
should have been ignorant of this thing. Moreover Tertullian who lived
near those times, mentions a certain presbyter in Asia, an adherent of
the apostle Paul, who was convicted by John of having been the author
of the book, and who, confessing that he did this for love of Paul,
resigned his office of presbyter."
- as translator of Paul's Hebrews --
- Eusebius, EH 6.14.1-2: "In the work called Hypotyposes, to
sum up the matter briefly he [Clement of Alexandria] has given us the
abridged accounts of all the canonical scriptures. ...The Epistle to
the Hebrews he asserts was written by Paul, to the Hebrews, in the
Hebrew tongue; but that it was carefully translated by Luke, and
published among the Greeks. As a resultof this translation, the same
type of style is found in the Epistle and in Acts, but the [attribution
to] Paul and apostle understandably was not prefixed. For, he [Clement]
says, in writing to Hebrews who had conceived a prejudice against him
[Paul] and were suspicious of him, he very wisely did not repel them at
the beginning by putting his name."
- Origen according to Eusebius, EH 6.25.13-14: "For not without
reason have the men of old time handed it down as Paul's. But who wrote
the epistle [to the Hebrews], in truth, God knows. Yet the account
which has reached us has some saying that Clement, who was bishop of
the Romans, wrote the epistle, others, that it was Luke, he who wrote
the Gospel and the Acts."
- See also EH 3.38.1-3 on 1 Clement: "In it he gives many
thoughts from the Epistle to the Hebrews, and even quotes verbally when
using certain passages from it, thus most clearly establishing the fact
that the treatise [to the Hebrews] was no recent thing. For this reason
it has seemed right and reasonable to reckon it among the other letters
of the apostle [Paul]. For Paul, having communicated in writing with
the Hebrews in their native tongue, some say that the evangelist Luke,
others that this Clement himself, translated the writing. The latter
statement is the more probably true, because both the Epistle of
Clement and that to the Hebrews maintain the same character from the
point of view of style, and because the thoughts in each of the two
treatises are not divergent."
Timothy
- 26 Jan: Timothy (d. c. 97) Timothy appears in Acts 16: 1-3 as
Paul's companion, and two letters traditionally attributed to Paul are
addressed to him. Eusebius tells that Tim became bishop of Ephesus, and
he is said to have been stoned to death for denouncing the worship of
Dionysus.
Titus
- 26 Jan: Titus (1st cent.) Titus was a disciple of Paul (and I
can't remember if the letter to Titus in the New Testament is regarded
as authentic Paul or not). He was sent to Dalmatia, but legend tells
that he ended up as a bishop on Crete.
- Pseudo-Titus Epistle
- Acts of Titus -- Acts of Titus, ch.4:
"St. Titus was ordained by the apostles and sent with Paul to teach and
to ordain whomever Paul might designate. Arriving at Antioch, they
found Barnabas, the son of Panchares whom Paul had raised."
Richard Pervo, translator. "The 'Acts of Titus': A Preliminary
Translation With an Introduction, Notes, and Appendices." SBL Seminar
Papers (1996): 455-481.
This has some affinity with the story in the PHeid papyrus (see H/S
2:238) about Paul raising the dead boy in Antioch. In there, the boy is
just described as "the son of Anchares."
22 November is the feast day of Philemon and Apphia
(d. c. 70) Philemon was the recipient of one of
Paul's letters -- he was a citizen of Colossae and owned the runaway
slave Onesimus, about whom Paul wrote. Apphia was apparently his wife.
Legend tells that both were stoned to death at their home.
16 February is the feast day of Onesimus (d. c.
90) The runaway slave Onesimus was the reason behind Paul's letter to
Philemon. The old Roman Martyrology reports that O. was Timothy's
successor as bishop of Ephesus, and was martyred.
Ananias
(1st cent.) Ananias was one of Jesus' disciples. He appears in Acts 9
as the baptizer of Paul. According to legend, he preached in Damascus
and Eleutheropolis before he was martyred.
Aristarchus:
4 August is the feast day of: Aristarchus of Thessalonika (1st cent.)
Aristarchus' was Paul's traveling companion for a time. Legend reports
that he was first bishop of Thessalonika, and that he was martyred
along with Paul at Rome [from web site].
Lydia: 3
August is the feast day of: Lydia of Thyatira (or Lydia Purpuraria)
(1st cent.) Lydia was a dealer in purple dye. When Paul visited
Philippi in Macedonia, she became his very first convert in Europe.
Erastus:
26 July feast day -- Erastus was the city treasurer of Corinth, and
appears three times in the New Testament. On the principle that anyone
who ever met Paul must be a saint, later tradition made E. a bishop and
martyr---eastern tradition says he was at Caesarea Philippi in
Palestine; western tradition reports that he was martyred while bishop
of Philippi in Macedonia.
Dionysius the
Areopagite (d. c. 95)(9 October). Dionysius appears in Acts 17,
converted by Paul at Athens. According to legend he became the first
bishop of Athens and was martyred there. His name was later connected to
the fifth-century writer Pseudo-Dionysius.
Crescentius/Crescens
(1st cent.) (27 June). Crescens appears in 2 Tim 4.10 as a
disciple/associate of Paul, where it is said that he has gone to
Galatia. Tradition makes C the first bishop of the Galatians and tells
that he was martyred there in the reign of Trajan. Later legend is
divided on whether he was active in Gaul or Galatia. The more
venturesome hagiographers made C into a disciple of Paul, who traversed
all of Europe, visiting Rome and going on to Gaul, where he founded the
church in Vienne (France) and was even in Mainz in Germany; then he
made it back to modernday Turkey (Galatia), where he was martyred.
Artemas of
Lystra (30 October) Artemas was one of Paul's first converts; he
appears in Titus 3:12). Legend says A. was the first bishop of Lystra
in Asia Minor.
Apollinarius of
Ravenna (1st cent.) (27 June or 23 July?). Apollinare is now
most famous for the two great late antique basilicas dedicated to him
in Ravenna. According to tradition, he was the first bishop of Ravenna
-- later legend has St. Peter commission Apollinarius and send him to
northern Italy to preach. His cult spread across the Alps to France and
Germany, especially Alsace. Legend tells that Apollinaris was a native
of Antioch. He became a disciple of St. Peter and was "appointed"
first bishop of Ravenna. He is supposed to have converted many
people, suffered shipwreck, was exiled three times, fled during
Vespasian's persecution, was caught and beaten by a mob, but
survived the experience.
Cletus
(26. April) A rather confused character, who seems to have been
duplicated rather a lot. According to Irenaeus, Cletus was the second
successor of Peter as bishop of Rome. He made it into the Roman
martyrology twice: once as Cletus and once as Anacletus. His cult was
suppressed in 1969, but his name still appears in the Roman canon of
the mass.
Aphrodisius
and companions (28 April) Gregory of Tours tells an exotic legend to
the effect that Aphrodisius was an Egyptian who sheltered the Holy
Family during the flight to Egypt. He is later supposed to have made
his way to Languedoc (doubtless along with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha),
where he was martyred.
11 May is feast day for Evellius (d. c.
66?) The subject of what appears to be a later pious myth, Evellius was
alleged to be a counsellor of Nero, so impressed by the martyrs Nero
created that he himself converted and was martyred.
12 May is the feast day of Flavia Domitilla,
Euphrosyna, and Theodora (d. c. 100) Flavia was a great-niece of
emperors Titus and Domitian. She was exiled as a Christian. She may
also have been martyred with two foster-sisters. Then again, there may
be two martyrs of the same name. Her cult was deemed too confusing, and
suppressed in 1969.
12 May is the feast day of Nereus and Achilles
(d. c. 100) Soldiers in the Praetorian Guard who, according to their
unreliable acta, where baptized by Peter and exiled with Flavia
Domitilla before they ended up decapitated. *Their* cult hasn't been
suppressed.
29 December is the feast day of Trophimus the Ephesian
(d. c. 65) Trophimus accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. One legend says
that he was beheaded in Rome in Nero's reign. He wasn't actually the
first bishop of Arles (see below).
Trophimus of Arles (d. c. 280) One legend says that Trophimus was sent
from Rome to be first bishop of Arles. Ever since the 5th century,
though, he has been identified with Trophimus the Ephesian (see above).
15 March is the feast day of Longinus (1st
cent.) Longinus is the name traditionally given to the soldier who
pierced Jesus' side with a spear to make sure he was dead. Legend tells
that L. converted, was cured of blindness, and was eventually martyred
in Cappodocia.
15 March is the feast day of Aristobolus (1st
cent.) Aristobulus appears in Romans 16:11 and tradition further
reports that he was one of the 72 disciples. A later fiction identified
A. with Zebedee (father of James and John) and connected him with
Britain.
22 June: Flavius
Clemens (d. 96) Flavius was a brother of Emperor
Vespasian, uncle of Titus and Domitian. He shared the consulate
with Domitian in 95, who then had F. executed for "atheism" and "Jewish
customs"---terms believed to refer to F's conversion to Christianity.
2 July: Processus
and Martinian (1st cent.) A sixth-century legend tells
that Martinian and Processus were Roman prison guards who had charge of
either Peter or Paul (or both) when they were in the Mammertine
Prison. Of course M and P were converted -- and Peter baptized
them using a spring that conveniently (and miraculously) appeared in
the prison. The two were then tortured by their superior for
refusing to sacrifice and finally killed.
6 July is the feast day of Romulus of Fiesole
(d. c. 90?) According to legend, Romulus was a Roman converted
by Peter. He went on to be first bishop of Fiesole and was
martyred there with several companions. An eleventh-century vita
that sounds like great fun tells that R. was the illegitimate son of a
noblewoman and a slave; R. was abandoned,
suckled by a kindly wolf, and lived wild until captured by Peter (after
Nero had tried and failed to do so). R. then went on to
evangelize much of central Italy.
28 July is the feast day of Nazarius and Celsus
(d. c. 68) According to legend, Nazarius was a disciple of St.
Peter. During Nero's reign he was beheaded in Milan for preaching
Christianity, along with his young companion Celsus.
While that's legend, it's fact that Ambrose discovered the bodies in
Milan soon after 395 (this has a legendary element too: that N's blood
was still liquid when the relics were discovered).
3 August: Aspren
of Naples (late 1st/early 2d cent.?). According to uniform
local tradition, reaching back at least as far as the anonymous first
part (late 8th/very early 9th cent.) of the _Gesta episcoporum
neapolitanorum_, A. was Naples' first bishop. The 9th century
_Vita maior_ of St. Athanasius of Naples (BHL 735) has him consecrated
by St. Peter himself. His _Vita minor_ (late 9th or early 10th
cent.; BHL 724) presents the earliest version of the story of Peter's
stopping for a while in Naples on his way to Rome and here first
converting and baptizing A. and later, once Naples had accepted
Christianity, consecrating A. as its bishop. BHL 724 was further
developed by Alberic of Montecassino (BHL 725; late 11th cent.) and
others; in its mature form A.'s legend includes the foundation story of
Naples' Benedictine monastery church of San Pietro ad Ara(m), a pious
fiction attaching to a particular spot the supposed Petrine origin of
Christianity in Naples. San Pietro ad Ara(m) is built over a
paleochristian church with adjacent catacombs; its present structure
(seventeenth-century) houses bits and pieces from other churches
demolished during Naples' late ninetee
nth-century "Risanamento", when parts of the Old City near the port
were "cleaned up" following the cholera epidemic of 1884/85. San Pietro
ad Ara(m) is near the Piazza Garibaldi end of the Corso Umberto I (the
"Rettifilo"); at the Piazza Bovio end is the Palazzo della Borsa, a
late nineteenth-century structure incorporating the remains of the
early medieval church of Sant'Aspreno al Porto (as well as some
fifteenth-century columns removed from the cloister of San Pietro ad
Ara[m] when the latter was torn down in the Risanamento). There
is also a chapel dedicated to A. in the Basilica of Santa Restituta (a
rebuilt early medieval structure incorporated into Naples' cathedral)
commemorating A.'s traditional burial place in an early Christian
oratory beneath it. Needless to say, A. is one of Naples' patron
saints: among those named after him were the nineteenth-century
medievalists Gennaro Aspreno Galante (a local archeologist of note) and
Gennaro Aspreno Rocco (a literary scholar and Latin poet). [John Dillon]
5 August: Addai
and Mari (d. c. 180?) Legend tells that Jesus promised to
send a disciple to King Abgar at Edessa and Addai, one of the 72, was
chosen. He cured Abgar of an incurable disease, converted him
(and his people) to Christianity, etc. Addai's own disciple Mari
went on to be a missionary along the Tigris. More historically,
both seem to have been missionaries in the late second century and both
have been venerated since an early date as apostles of Syria and Persia.
7 August: Claudia
(1st cent.) An interesting tradition makes Claudia, the mother of
Linus, the daughter of British King Caractacus. Caractacus had
indeed been sent to Rome after his defeat in battle and one of his
daughters took the name Claudia (she's mentioned in 2 Timothy).
10 August: Philomena
(date ?) A set of bones of a young girl were found in the
catacomb of Priscilla, with the inscription: "Peace be with you,
Philomena." Clearly a saint. The relics were moved to the
church of Mugnano del Cardinale near Nola in 1805 and miracles were
soon reported. P's cult spread widely and was authorized in
1837. But she was removed from the calendar in 1961 because
there's no evidence at all that she was a saint (posthumous miracles
apparently not being enough in this case). http://www.philomena.it/
1 September: Priscus
of Capua (d. 68, supposedly, or perhaps 368 or 378).
Today's less well known saint from the Regno is an early martyr
recorded for the today in the pesudo-Hieronymian Martyrology, in the
Marble Calendar of
Naples, and in various other early-to-Carolingian sources. His
cult is attested from the early fifth century, the approximate date of
the now lost portrait mosaics of Campanian saints that once adorned the
church dedicated to him at what is now San Prisco (CE), between Capua
and Caserta. In the Martyrology of Ado he is said to have been
one of
Jesus' disciples; local tradition (neither unanimous nor particularly
credible) makes him a companion of St. Peter and the first bishop of
Capua (who is otherwise said to have been Rufus of Capua [27 August]).
P.'s Casssinese Vita (BHL 6927; ?10th cent.) makes him a bishop
expelled from Africa during a later fourth-century persecution who
settled at
Capua, destroyed the temple of Diana on the site of the later
Sant'Angelo in Formis, and was martyred for his pains. The even
more legendary eleventh- or twelfth-century _Passio sancti Castrensis_
includes him among the dozen bishops who fled Vandal persecution in
Africa and settled down in various parts of Campania. Real proof
of P.'s episcopal dignity is lacking. Domenico Ambrasi, s.v.
"Prisco di Capua, santo, martire," in the _Bibliotheca Sanctorum_, vol.
10 (1968),
cols. 1114-16, suggests he may have been a soldier or an imperial
functionary. [John Dillon]
15 September: Nicomedes
(d. c. 90?) According to the Roman Martyrology, Nicomedes refused
to sacrifice to the state gods and was flogged to death. His
veneration in Rome goes back to an early date.
Hermas
(included among the 70)
- 9 May is the feast day of: Hermas
- Hermas is mentioned in Romans 16.14
- A Greek tradition claims that Hermas became bishop of Philippi,
where he was martyred
- [Gel 18]Book which is called Shepherd
[Liber qui appellatur Pastoris]
- Muratorian Canon: But Hermas wrote the Shepherd
quite lately in our time in the city of Rome, when on the throne of the
church of the city of Rome the bishop Pius, his brother, was seated.
And therefore it ought indeed to be read, but it cannot be read
publicly in the Church to the other people either among the prophets,
whose number is settled, or among the apostles to the end of time.
- Codex Sinaiticus (at the end, after Barnabas)
22 February is the feast day of Papias of Hierapolis
(d. c. 130) Papias was bishop of Hierapolis (Phrygia). He is known for
his *Explanation of the Sayings of the Lord* (unfortunately no longer
extant; or maybe not so unfortunately: Eusebius had a very low opinion
of it). This work is the source of the traditions that Matthew wrote
his gospel in Aramaic and that Mark's gospel was a summary of Peter's
preaching.
23 February is the feast day of Polycarp of Smyrna and
companions (d. c. 155) Polycarp had been a disciple of John the
Evangelist (according to Irenaeus) before becoming bishop of Smyrna in
c. 96. He and twelve other Christians were burned alive in the
amphitheater in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. The account of this is
the earliest surviving acta of any Christian martyr.
17 October is the feast day of Ignatius of Antioch
(d. c. 107) Ignatius may have been a disciple of
John the Evangelist. Legend tells that Peter consecrated him as
bishop of Antioch. After 40 years in office, I. was arrested in
Trajan's reign and shipped to Rome, where he was thrown to the lions.
Two of I's companions on his final journey wrote a description of the
trip, and I himself wrote seven letters of instruction.
Gospels & Writings Associated with Judaistic Christians
- [NicNT 4] The Gospel
of the Hebrews 2200 lines
- Gospel
of the Nazarenes
- Hebraic Gospel according to Matthew used by the Ebionites
[Epiphanius, Panarion
30]
- Panarion 30.13.1: And they [the Ebionites] receive the Gospel
according to Matthew. For this they too, like the followers of
Cerinthus and Merinthus, use to the exclusion of others. And they call
it according to the Hebrews, as the truth is, that Matthew
alone of New Testament writers made his exposition and preaching of the
Gospel in Hebrew and in Hebrew letters.
- Panarion 30.13.2 [Resch Apok 12]: In the Gospel they have,
called according to Matthew, but not wholly complete, but
falsified and mutilated (they call it Hebraikon), it is
contained ....
- Panarion 30.16.4: ...as their Gospel, which is called Gospel
according to Matthew, or Gospel According to the Hebrews,
reports:
- Book
of Elxai/Elkasai
Other Gospels Associated with "Heretics" (make separate entries by
name?)
Miscellaneous "Gospels"
Other Miscellaneous
- Authoritative
Teaching [NHL]
- Discourse
on the 8th and 9th [NHL]
- Treatise
on the Resurrection [NHL]
- Trimorphic
Protennoia [NHL]
- Ophite
Diagrams [Origen]
- Naassene
Fragment [Hippolytus]
- [Gel 19]All books which Leucius, the disciple of the devil, has
made
[Libri omnes quos fecit Leucius disciplulus diabuli, apocryphi]
- [Gel 20]Book which is called Foundation [Liber qui appellatur
Fundamentum, apocryphus]
- [Gel 21]Book which is called Treasure [Liber qui appellatur
Thesaurus]
- [Gel 25]Book which is called Nepos' [Liber qui appellatur Nepotis]
- [Gel 26]Book of Proverbs, compiled by heretics and presented in
the name of the Holy Sixtus
[Liber Proverbiorum ab hereticis conscriptus et sancti Sixti nomine
praesignatus]
Apostolic Fathers (except Clement, Barnabas, and Hermas -- see above)
Later Fathers
- [Gel 34]Book which is called Penitence of Origen [Paenitentia
Origenis]
- [Gel 35]Book which is called Penitence of the Holy Cyprian
[Paenitentia sancti Cypriani]
- [Gel 40]The book Physiologus, compiled by heretics and called by
the name of the blessed Ambrose
[Liber Physiologus ab hereticis conscriptus et beati Ambrosii nomine
praesignatus]
- [Gel 41]The History of Eusebius Pamphili [Historia Eusebii
Pamphili, apocrypha]
- [Gel 42]Works of Tertullian [opuscula Tertulliani]
- [Gel 43]Works of Lactantius (later add: or of Firmianus or of the
African) [opuscula Lactantii sive Firmiani]
[opuscula Africani]
- [Gel 44]Works of Postumianus and of Gallus [opuscula Postumiani
et Galli]
- [Gel 45]Works of Montanus, of Priscilla and of Maximilla
[Montani, Priscillae et Maximillae]
- [Gel 46]Works of Faustus the Manichean [Fausti Manichei]
- [Gel 47]Works of Commodianus
- [Gel 48]Works of the other Clement of Alexandria
- [Gel 49]Works of Thascius Cyprian [Thascii Cypriani]
- [Gel 50]Works of Arnobius
- [Gel 51]Works of Tichonius
- [Gel 52]Works of Cassian, a presbyter in Gaul [Cassiani
presbyteri Galliarum]
- [Gel 53]Works of Victorinus of Pettau [Victorini Petabionensis]
- [Gel 54]Works of Faustus of Riez in Gaul [Fausti Regiensis
Galliarum]
- [Gel 55]Works of Frumentius Caecus [Frumentii Caeci]
- [Gel 58]Passion (Martyr Acts) of Cyricus and of Iulitta [Passio
Cyrici et Iulittae]
- [Gel 59]Passion of Georgius [Passio Georgii]
Heretics
- Simon Magus,
- Nicolaus,
- Cerinthus -- Gospel of Cerinthus (H-S)
- Marcion -- Gospel of Marcion (H-S)
- Basilides -- Gospel of Basilides (H-S)
- Ebion -- Gospel of the Ebionites
- Paul of Samosata [etiam Samosatenus],
- Photinus and Bonosus, who suffered from similar error [qui simili
errore defecerunt],
- also Montanus with his detestable followers [quoque cum suis
obscenissimis sequacibus],
- Apollinaris,
- Valentinus the Manichean [sive Manicheus],
- Faustus the African [Faustus Africanus],
- Sabellius,
- Arius [ca 325],
- Macedonius,
- Eunomius,
- Novatus,
- Sabbatius,
- Calistu,
- Donatus,
- Eustatius,
- Iovianus,
- Pelagius [ca 400],
- Iulianus of Eclanum,
- Caelestius,
- Maximian,
- Priscillian from Spain [Priscillianus ab Hispania],
- Nestorius of Constantinople,
- Maximus the Cynic [ca 380],
- Lampetius [ca 431],
- Dioscorus [-454],
- Eutyches [ca 450],
- Peter [of Alexandria] [ca 451 Chalcedon]
- and the other Peter [of Antioch, ca 451 Chalcedon], of whom the
one besmirched Alexandria and the other Antioch [e quibus unus
Alexandriam, alius Antiocham maculavit],
- Acacius of Constantinople [fl 471-489] with his associates [cum
consortibus suis],